Staff Nurse AB. Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Scotland.
Presentation The patient presented with a partial thickness burn, covering 2–3% of the anterior medial aspects of the left lower leg, foot and great toe. The burn had been sustained two days earlier after spilling hot oil.
Blistering, some deroofed, was evident, and the wound was erythematous. The wound was yellowish, with sparse exudate and no slough.
There was no evidence of granulation or epithelialisation.
Sensation was intact and the patient was experiencing moderate pain. Dorsalis pedis was palpable and tetanus status was up-to-date
Treatment The wound was dressed with 5 Hydrocoll 10x10cm dressings – the only size available at the time of Treatment.
Assessment 1 On first review the dimensions of the wound remained unchanged. It was apparent that use of multiple dressings had led to leakage of the exudate. The dressing was removed easily without trauma or pain. On inspection, the wound surface was wet, with clear exudate and minimal slough. There was approximately 30% soft reddish granulation tissue and 10% epithelial tissue. The wound margins were flat and surrounding tissue remained healthy. The patient was experiencing moderate pain. A secondary dressing was applied to the wound to absorb leaking exudate.
Assessment 2 After 9 days of Treatment there was good evidence of healing with approximately 60% healthy granulation tissue and 40% epithelial tissue. Exudate had diminished significantly and slough was minimal.
Conclusion The overall results were most encouraging. The benefits included: • ease of application • comfort • easy removal • absence of trauma on removal • significant healing in a short time span.
Containment of exudate and odour may have been better managed with a larger dressing, but this does not detract from overall satisfaction with outcome.
