Abstract

Burns are large open surgical lesions bathed in virulent pus that result in rupturing of the cutaneous membrane, which has serious consequences such as an extensive loss of proteins, and body fluids, increased chances of infections, and sometimes death. These can be classified based on their penetration levels, i.e., first-degree burns penetrating the epidermis, second-degree burns including both epidermis and dermis, third-degree burns to both layers including the hair follicular cells, sweat glands and various core tissues, fourth-degree burns to adipose tissue, fifth stage burns to muscles, and sixth stage burns to bones. Wound healing/wound repair is a very perplexing process in which the tissues of the affected/burnt area repairs themselves to attain their original form and functionality but develop a scar at the wound site. This article mainly focuses on the algorithms to differentiate various degrees of burns, general first aid approaches to burns and scars, the rationale of treatment of burns, basic mechanisms highlighting the healing processes in humans in terms of free from scar formation as well as with scar formation at their elementary levels including cellular as well as biochemical levels, utility, and progression of pre-clinical data to humans and finally approaches for the improvement of scar formation in man.

Graphical Abstract