Burn Wound Healing and Scarring Pathophysiology

According to the American Burn Association, approximately 486,000 annual burns occur in the United States and approximately 40,000 of these require inpatient hospitalization (Burn Incidence Fact Sheet 2016. American Burn Association. http://ameriburn.org/who-we-are/media/burn-incidence-fact-sheet/. Accessed 29 Aug 2017). With the introduction of early excision and grafting and better critical care management, decreased mortality rates have introduced an opportunity for burn providers to address functional recovery after burn injury including management of late wound complications. Years after patients’ burns have “healed,” they continue to present to clinic with various problems including pruritus, contractures, and cosmesis (Thomspon et al., J Burn Care Res 34:477–482, 2013). In spite of this, clinicians have limited understanding of scar pathophysiology and continue to struggle with management.