Burn treatment covers two very different stages. Acute burn care treats a fresh injury with fluids, dressings, infection control and skin grafting in a specialist burn unit. Reconstructive burn care comes months or years later and deals with tight, thick or disfiguring scars.
For international patients, only the second stage is realistic. A fresh burn must be treated at the nearest burn centre. Scar surgery can improve movement and appearance, but grafted or scarred skin never becomes fully normal skin.
Conditions this service looks after
- Scar contractures that limit movement of the neck, armpit, elbow, hand or knee
- Hypertrophic and keloid scars after burns
- Unstable scars that repeatedly break down
- Burn scars of the face, eyelids, lips and scalp, including hair loss
- Pigment changes and rough texture after healed burns
- Chemical and electrical burn after-effects
Tests you may be offered
- Clinical scar assessment: The surgeon measures joint movement, scar thickness, pliability and maturity, and photographs the area.
- Wound swab and blood tests: Used where a scar is open or infected, and before any anaesthetic.
- Doppler or CT angiography: Maps blood vessels when a flap reconstruction is planned.
Treatments available
- Pressure garments, silicone and physiotherapy: First-line for immature scars. Splinting and stretching prevent contractures from returning after surgery.
- Steroid injections: Flatten and soften thick or itchy scars over several sessions.
- Laser treatment: Fractional CO2 and pulsed dye lasers can improve stiffness, redness and texture. Several sessions are needed and results are partial.
- Contracture release with Z-plasty or skin graft: The tight band is cut and the gap filled with rearranged local skin or a graft.
- Tissue expansion and flaps: A balloon stretches nearby healthy skin over weeks so it can replace scar, useful on the scalp and face.
- Fat grafting: May soften scar tissue, though evidence is still limited.
When to ask for a specialist opinion
- A scar is stopping a joint, eyelid or mouth from moving fully
- A child's scar is not keeping up with growth
- A scar keeps splitting, ulcerating or has changed after many years
- Itch or pain from a scar is not controlled with simple measures
- You want an opinion on improving a visible scar that has been stable for at least a year
Travelling to Türkiye for this care
Planned scar surgery and laser courses can fit a visit, but think in stages. A contracture release with grafting needs about 2 weeks nearby for dressing checks, then months of splinting and therapy at home, which you must arrange in advance. Tissue expansion needs weekly fills for 6 to 10 weeks, so it suits only people who can stay or return. Laser treatment is usually 3 to 5 sessions spaced 6 to 8 weeks apart. Never travel with a fresh burn: go to your nearest emergency department or burn unit.
Send your reports, scans and a short history and a Clinic-Y coordinator replies within 24 hours with suitable teams and written, all-inclusive proposals side by side. Reviewing your case is free.
الأسئلة المتكررة
How long should I wait before scar surgery?
Usually 12 months or more, until the scar has matured, unless it is restricting a joint or an eyelid, in which case earlier release is justified.
Can a burn scar be removed completely?
No. It can be made flatter, softer, less tight and less noticeable. The goal is improvement in function first, appearance second.
Do contractures come back?
They can, particularly in children and if splints and stretching are abandoned early. Aftercare is as important as the operation.
Is laser enough on its own?
For mild stiffness and redness it may be. Tight bands across joints need surgical release.