Splints and scar management for acute and reconstructive burn care.

Because patients assume a position of comfort during acute burn management, affected joints or regions must be splinted in positions of function to avoid contractures. Particularly with the increasing trend towards ambulatory burn care, close monitoring by the burn team and patient education is required to achieve the best functional result. Despite adequate initial care, contractures sometimes occur, requiring a shift in splinting tactics to correct the deformity. If secondary reconstruction is required, the affected region is once again maintained in the position of function. Although the physiologic mechanism is incompletely defined, pressure therapy to prevent and treat hypertrophic burn scars is an integral component of burn care. Multiple materials and methods are available with treatment, starting soon after burn wound closure, and modified as needed until scar maturation has occurred.