Patient name:Mphatso

Mechanism of burn:Scald Burn, Porridge Spill

Age:2 years

Total body surface area involved:15%

Mphatso is an active walking toddler who stays by the side of her mother during her daily routine of cooking and tending to the chores of the house.  While a cauldron of porridge is being prepared over open flame on the porch, a curious Mphatso steps directly into the preparing meal.  The young girl suffers third degree burns to nearly her entire leg.  Her wounds require skin grafts to be harvested from her entire back to cover the circumferential severe leg burns.  Mphatso heals remarkably well after a critical post-operative period.  She continues to be monitored on an outpatient basis at the Nkhoma Hospital to assess for high risk of joint contracture associated with the burns of her knee.

Initial Presentation

Skin Graft Application

2006