Case 5-2008: An 18-Month-Old Girl with an Advanced Neck Contracture after a Burn

An 18-month-old Chinese girl was seen for management of a life-threatening neck contracture due to burns to the face and torso at 12 months of age. The wounds had healed with contractures that resulted in fused nares, microstomia, and sleep apnea. Tracheal intubation was impossible because of the fused nares and microstomia, and scar tissue prevented tracheotomy. An 18-month-old Chinese girl was seen for management of a life-threatening neck contracture due to severe burns to the face and torso at 12 months of age. Tracheal intubation was impossible because of fused nares and microstomia, and scar tissue prevented tracheotomy. Presentation of Case An 18-month-old girl was transferred from a hospital in China to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Boston for management of a life-threatening neck contracture. The child had been well until 12 months of age, when she sustained a burn to the face and upper body from boiling cooking oil. She was transferred from her rural village to the burn unit of a regional hospital, where a tracheotomy was performed to protect the airway; the wounds eventually healed with topical care. The tracheotomy tube was removed, and the child was discharged from the hospital. In the ensuing . . .