Burn is injury to tissue due to dry heat i.e. flame, electricity or moist heat i.e. scalds or due to contact with chemicals such as strong acids, alkalis, phenols etc. Although skin is the usual part of the body to be burnt but the

internal organs can be burnt without involving the skin e.g. drinking very hot liquid or caustic substances e.g. ingestion of acid can burn the esophagus and stomach keeping skin intact. Similarly, inhaling hot smoke or air from a

burning building can burn the lungs without external injury. Depending on depth of

penetration the external burns can be classified as first degree or superficial burn, second degree or partial thickness burn, third degree or full

thickness burn and fourth degree burn which extend to fascia/muscle.

Besides, Wallace Rule of Nine is used to estimate the total surface area affected by burn. This is

popular to clinician and was devised by Pulaski and Tennison in 1947 and published by Alexander Burns Wallace in 1951. It is important for

estimating patients’ fluid requirements and determining hospitalization.

There was time when the country head no separate burn unit even plastic surgeon. Burn patients used to be treated in general surgical wards of the medical college hospital including DMCH. With the initiative of Dr. Samanta Lal, Chief National Coordinator of all Burn Projects, the

government first set up Burn Unit in DMCH with 50 beds. Now the government has established a full fledged institute named ‘Sheikh Hasina Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery’ which is

helping thousands of burn victims. The hospital is equipped with advanced technology. It may be mentioned that best treatment of burn is prevention.