I
n the UK there are approximately 250 000 people
injuredthroughburningeachyear(NationalBurnCare
ReviewCommittee(NBCR), 2001).Around 80% of
theseinjurieswillinvolvethe hand, eitheras part of
alargerinjuryorasanisolatedhandburn(Kamolzetal,
2009).Althoughhandburnsaresmallandaffectnomore
than 3% total body surfacearea (TBSA), theyare often
classifiedas complex injuries.The National Network for
Burn Care (NNBC) published new guidelines in 2012
forburnsreferralsandsuggeststhatburnstohandsshould
promptadiscussionwithaburnssurgeonandbeconsidered
forreferraldependingontheextentoftheinjury(NNBC,
2012).Itisforthisreasonthat,whilehandburnsdonot
often playaroleinmortality,theyareintegralfactorsin
successfulreintegrationintosociety.Apartfromfunctional
rehabilitation,aestheticoutcomemustbe consideredsince
hands(liketheface)cannotbehiddenbyclothessoeasily
(Kamolzetal,2009)