The optimal management of pediatric steam burn from electric rice-cooker: STSG or FTSG?

The steam burn caused by an electric rice-cooker is a unique mode of burn injury in Asian countries, especially Korea and Japan. This type of burn injury is characterized by 1) occurring most frequently on the volar aspect of the hand in toddlers younger than 2 years of age (92.8%); 2) the depth of burns are normally deep second-degree to third-degree (98%) and usually need surgery at the time of injury; 3) flexion contractures of multiple finger joints and web space contracture are common sequelae. We hypothesized that primary full-thickness skin graft (FTSG) would give more reliable results and eliminate the late reconstructive procedures. Between January 1997 and September 1999, 36 patients underwent primary FTSG, and the results of this primary FTSG group were compared with 124 patients who were treated with split-thickness skin graft (STSG; 79/124; 63.7%) or by conservative management (45/124; 36.3%), and readmitted for the correction of hand deformities between September 1995 and September 1999. In the primary FTSG group, 11.1% (4/36) of mild web contractures and 5.5% (2/36) of finger joint contractures were documented, and these did not require the reconstructive procedure during a follow-up period of 8.8 +/- 4.8 months. In 124 patients of the primary STSG or conservative group, the mean time interval to reoperation was 8.9 +/- 4.0 months and all patients received FTSG for correction of late hand deformities. In a retrospective study of the primary STSG group, 42 of 53 patients (79.2%) received reconstructive procedure during a 5-year follow-up period. In this report, we introduce the nature of steam burn caused by electric rice-cooker and propose that primary FTSG may be a reliable method for the treatment of this more severe type of acute burn in pediatric patients.