Thermal injuries in autogenous tissue breast reconstruction

We report on four patients with partial and full thickness burns following autogenous tissue breast reconstruction. Three burns were confined to the f lap and one burn involved the flap and rim of adjacent skin. Heat sources i ncluded a heating pad (n = 3) and sunlight through a bathing suit (n = 1). The injuries occurred from 6 days to 4 years following the reconstruction. The burns were the result of impaired thermoregulatory capacity of transpla nted tissue. All wounds healed with local wound care or debridement and ski n grafting.