Screening of HLA sensitization during acute burn care

Major trauma to the face and extremities secondary to extensive burns frequently leaves massive soft and bony tissue defects that are not amenable to conventional reconstruction. Vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) has meanwhile become a viable therapeutic option for reconstruction of those defects aiming at highest functional and aesthetic outcomes [1,2]. Of the known 142 VCA cases to date, at least 30 were performed for burn reconstruction [1]. Since the inception of clinical VCA over a decade ago, burn victims have been identified as immunologically complex patients for these procedures owing to preformed human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies [3 –5].

Source: Burns : Journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries - March 7, 2018 Category: Cosmetic Surgery Authors: Holger J. Klein, Fabienne Lehner, Riccardo Schweizer, Barbara R üsi-Elsener, Jakob Nilsson, Jan A. Plock Source Type: research