Early excision of deep burn eschar and the expeditious closure of the resultant wounds have become established as gold standard burn care. However, early burn excision has been accepted as up to four days post injury based on a series of misconceptions, not least that the patient is too unwell to undergo surgery and tolerate anaesthesia too soon after injury. There are several reasons why immediate burn excision yields superior survival outcomes, and these are expounded in this article. The systemic pathophysiology following major burn injury, especially when complicated by the respiratory pathophysiology accompanying smoke inhalation, evolves. The hours immediately after burn injury offer several windows of surgical opportunity, windows closed by the pathophysiological events that peak 24 hours later and make surgery and anaesthesia at that time both dangerous and ill-advised.
Keywords: Burns; anaesthesia; reconstructive surgery; skin; surgery.