The looseness of the cervical skin, as well as the range of mobility of the neck may favor wound contracture during burn wound healing. The deformity, contracture pulling the chin downward & fixing it near the sternum, varies with the amount of skin destroyed and the adequacy of the early skin grafting. The management of release of neck contracture is face poses special problems, although many method have used for release.
Considering these problems in mind, 22 cases of burn scar contracture of neck, who underwent release and cover by intermediate split thickness skin graft, and managed by sponge compression with Thomas collar splint for 6 months, in department of plastic surgery, Kyung Hee Medical Center, were clinically reviewed.
The result was summerised as follow;
1) In our series free mobility of the neck was restored in nearly all the cases.
2) The results have no relationship between the patient’s age and sex, etiology of burn and duration of scar.
3) The postoperative results were good, but negative points were limited contractures, especially in the surprasternal fossa, submentocervical angle, and the suture line of two piece of skin.
4) Most cases of wrinkle & slight contracture of skin graft, were obtained from inadequate post-operative sponge compression & Thomas collar apply.
5) Excision of the scar tissue superficial to the plastysma, recipient surface apt to be irregualr and not well suited for successful skin grafting, so in these cases were represented poor results of skin adhesion & wrinkle.
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