Z-Plasty – Basic Surgical Technique for Post-Burn Patients

Abstract Background In the majority of patients, the consequences of burns often require surgery due to complications like contracture. Various surgical techniques are employed for correction, including free skin grafting, local tissue plasty, and free flaps. This study focuses on Z-plasty as a surgical technique for correcting scar deformities after burns. Materials and Methods We treated 84 patients with burn consequences. Z-plasty was the main method for 67 patients, while 17 patients received Z-plasty combined with other techniques: 11 with split-thickness skin grafts, 4 with non-free skin plasty, 1 with a combination of Z-plasty, tissue expander, and local tissue plasty, and 1 with two different Z-plasty sites. Results Early complications occurred in 8 patients. One case resulted in inflammation and dehiscence of the plasty. In 6 cases, partial lysis of the vertices of the triangles was observed, which healed spontaneously. Conclusions Despite some early complications, Z-plasty proves to be a successful treatment method for scar deformities post-burn. The results are generally satisfactory, demonstrating the efficacy of this technique in most cases.