Reconstructive goals for children with burns: are our goals the same?

It is often difficult if not impossible to include a pediatric patient in the planning of burn reconstruction. To give the patient greater input into his or her reconstructive plan, we developed a survey tool to evaluate the different reconstructive goals of the patient, the parent, and the physician. Each patient, parent, and physician were requested to complete a separate goal form. Each form consisted of a simple line drawing of a child that shows both anterior and posterior views. The patient, the parent, and the physician were each asked to circle the desired reconstruction site or sites. The responses were collated and compared by sex, age, size of burn, and evaluator (patient, parent, or physician). Patients indicated fewer and different desired reconstruction sites than the physicians or the parents. Before reconstruction is planned, the patient should be consulted. The desires of the parents and the physician may differ significantly from those of the patient.