Poster Presentation NZAPS and ANZSOPS Joint Scientific Meeting

Common Alkali Causing Deep Buttock Burns: An Uncommon Presentation (581)

JIESHENG LIM 1 , Si Jack Chong 2
  1. Ministry of Health Holdings/ Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, SINGAPORE
  2. Plastics Surgery, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore

Buttock burns are rarely reported as they are seldom exposed and to our knowledge there has been a paucity of literature reporting chemical alkali burns. 

We present 2 case reports of isolated adult buttock burns following insidious exposure to household alkali 

Interestingly, both were sustained while seated during transportation. These were both deep burns and required excision and split thickness skin grafting. 

The buttocks are difficult areas to manage as there is an inherent risk of faecal contamination. Significant pressure and shear forces also presents as a harsh environment for skin graft to survive. To overcome this, we dressed the wounds with negative pressure wound therapy to reduce faecal contamination while reducing shear and pressure to the grafts. 

 

Results 

Both patients recovered well from their surgical procedures and achieved 100% graft take.