Background and Objective

Seventy percent of the major burn patients have face burns and their surgical management depends on the depth of the burn; usually full thickness burns have to undergo early tangential excision with immediate coverage once the patient is stable and in the partial thickness facial burns the surgical management is dermoabrasion and coverage with topical agents, synthetic dressings or biological dressings. However, the dressing changes with topical agents are painful and frequent procedures and many of the synthetic and biological dressings are expensive and not available for some health systems.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of amniotic membrane glicerol preserved 85%, as a transient biological dressing in the management of partial and total thickness facial burns.

Methods

We developed an observational descriptive prospective study case series of 52 consecutive patients. We used exposed 85% glycerol preserved amniotic membrane as a transient biological coverage provided by the Science, Biotechnology and Innovation District Institute of Health (IDCBIS) of the Health Secretary of Bogotá (Colombia), without secondary dressings, immediately after mechanic dermoabrasion in patients with partial and total thickness facial burns.

Results

All the patients epithelialized between the 5th and 10th day with only one application of the amniotic membrane without secondary dressings or topical agents; also the patients did not show wound healing alterations. Some patients stayed in the hospital longer than 10 days because they presented major burns. None of them presented infection and all referred absence of pain during the postoperative period.

Conclusions

The use of amniotic membrane as a transient biological dressing for the treatment of partial and total thickness facial burns is an economic, effective and available tool in countries with skin banks. The use of the amniotic membrane after the dermoabrasion avoids daily wound dressing changes, decreases and controls the pain and promotes wound healing and epithelization.

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