MANAGEMENT OF FULL-THICKNESS BURNS TO LACTATING BREASTS

A 19-year-old female sustained 8 percent full thickness petrol flame b urns to the neck, chest, breasts, upper abdomen and portions of the ri ght upper limb, The patient had been breast-feeding until the time of the injury. Following assessment of the risks of potential complicatio ns such as engorgement, hyperprolactinaemia, mastitis, milk fistulae, glandular loss, scarring and nipple distortion, surgical tangential ex cision was delayed until bromocriptine produced cessation of lactation and breast involution occurred. This case report demonstrates that co nsideration of the potential problems in burns to the lactating breast s and prophylactic management can lead to successful healing and proba ble restoration of function.