Trunk deformity reconstruction

Burns to the trunk are anatomically bordered by the neck, the groin, the roots of the limbs, and the shoulder and axillary areas. They are managed in the acute setting in a similar way to other burned areas of the body. Following stabilization, soft tissue cover options are chosen according to the depth of the burn, the availability of donor sites, and the anatomical structures involved. In the case of the trunk, special attention is required to appropriately return to normal function and cosmesis two key zones: the joint areas bordering the trunk and the breast and nipple-areola complex. The options of reconstruction include the use of skin grafts with or without dermal substitutes, tissue rearrangement techniques, tissue expansion techniques, and local, regional, distant and free flaps. The need to recreate their delicate structures may require the use of complex autologous options like free flaps that reconstruct tissue in a like-for-like fashion or the use of regional flaps combined with prosthetic material or dermal matrices. The recreation of the nipple areola complex may require reconstruction with local flaps, skin grafts, or tattooing techniques.