Axillary contractures are commonly encountered and are more difficult to treat than other contractures of joint after burn.
Therefore, whenever skin grafts are used for an axillary release, postoperative management is complicated by the need for prolonged splinting in abduction and faithful physical therapy.
There are generally three types of axillary contractures.
First type, after sever burns to upper trunk or upper chest, there is full thickness burn over wide area resultant tight contracture causing adherence of the upper arm to the lateral chest wall.
Second type, burn contracture is sparing of the skin at the apex with preservation of axillary hair and resultant scar contracture either anterior chest or along the posterior axillary line.
Third type, least burn contracture among three types, there is sparing of skin of axillary, thoracic and upper arm and usually appears as contracture among three types, there is sparing of skin of axillary, thoracic and upper arm and usually
appears as
contracture of posterior and anterior axillary region and all more linear types of scar.
In many of these patients, judicious rearrangement of soft tissues with local flaps and Z-plasties can be effective.
We had treated 13 cases of axillary contractures from 1993 to 1995 several surgical procedures and it's result were satisfactory.
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