Burn Treatment

In Fort Worth, TX

Healing with Function in Mind.

Burn Treatment at New Leaf

Burn care depends on the depth, location, and extent of the injury. Treatment may address wound healing, scar tightness, and the movement of an affected area.

Burn treatment depends on the injury’s depth, size, location, and effect on function. Care may include wound management, skin grafting, or later scar reconstruction. A serious new burn needs prompt medical assessment; an online consultation request is not emergency care.

Overview / Burn Treatment

How Burns May Be Treated

Treatment depends on the depth, size, location, and severity of the burn. Dr. Candis Lovelace evaluates the wound, tissue health, risk of scarring, and whether nearby joints or functional areas may be affected. The treatment plan may change as the wound evolves and healing progresses.

Local wound care
Specialized dressings
Monitoring for infection or delayed healing
Debridement of unhealthy tissue when needed
Skin grafting
Flap reconstruction when deeper tissue coverage is needed
Scar management
Release of contractures to improve movement
Physical or occupational therapy when motion is affected
Secondary procedures to improve function or appearance over time

Burn care can involve several stages. The first priority is to protect the wound, reduce infection risk, and support healing. Once the wound is closed, attention may shift to scar management, movement, comfort, and long-term reconstruction if needed.

Candidates / Burn Treatment

When a Burn Should Be Evaluated

For a serious new burn, seek urgent medical care rather than waiting for this office to respond. Call 911 for breathing difficulty, suspected smoke inhalation, or another life-threatening injury. Deep, extensive, electrical, or chemical burns require prompt medical evaluation. See emergency-care guidance from the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Some minor burns can be managed with basic wound care, but many burn injuries require professional evaluation. Prompt care is especially important when the burn is deep, large, blistering, painful, contaminated, slow to heal, or located in an area where scarring could limit movement or function.

Prompt medical evaluation is especially important when a burn involves:

Hands or fingers
Face or eyelids
Neck
Feet
Genitals
Joints such as the elbow, wrist, knee, ankle, or shoulder
Large areas of skin
Deep tissue injury
Blistering or open wounds
Increasing redness, swelling, drainage, or odor
Delayed healing
Loss of motion or tightness
Scars that are becoming raised, thick, painful, or restrictive

Burns can change in appearance over time. A burn that initially appears moderate may prove deeper as healing progresses. Evaluation helps determine whether the wound is healing appropriately or whether additional treatment is needed to protect function and reduce long-term problems.

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Options / Burn Treatment

Understanding Burn Depth

Burns are commonly described by depth. The depth of the burn helps determine whether local wound care, specialized dressings, skin grafting, scar treatment, or reconstructive surgery may be needed. While minor burns may heal with conservative care, deeper burns can cause tissue loss, scarring, contractures, and long-term functional limitations.

First Degree Burns

First degree burns affect the outer layer of skin. These burns may cause redness, tenderness, mild swelling, and sensitivity. Sunburn is a common example of a superficial burn. Many first degree burns heal without surgery, but evaluation may still be helpful when pain is significant, the burn covers a large area, or the burn involves a sensitive location.

Treatment for a first degree burn may include cooling the area, protecting the skin, keeping the area clean, avoiding further injury, and using appropriate dressings or topical care when recommended. These burns typically do not require skin grafting because the deeper layers of skin remain intact.

Second Degree Burns

Second degree burns extend deeper into the skin and may cause blistering, drainage, swelling, redness, and more significant pain. Some second degree burns are superficial partial-thickness injuries that can heal with proper wound care. Others are deeper partial-thickness burns that may take longer to heal and have a higher risk of scarring or contracture.

Second degree burns should be evaluated carefully when they are large, involve the hands, face, feet, genitals, or joints, show signs of infection, or are not healing as expected. Deeper second degree burns may require more advanced wound care or, in some cases, surgical treatment to support healing and reduce complications.

Third Degree Burns

Third degree burns involve the full thickness of the skin and may damage deeper tissues. These burns can appear white, leathery, charred, or waxy and may be less painful at the center if nerve endings have been damaged. Full-thickness burns often cannot heal well on their own and may require surgical treatment.

Third degree burns may need debridement, skin grafting, flap reconstruction, or staged procedures to restore protective coverage. When these burns involve functional areas such as the hands, neck, elbows, knees, or ankles, treatment planning must also consider movement and the risk of scar contracture.

Recovery / Burn Treatment

Recovery After Burn Treatment

Burn recovery depends on the depth and severity of the injury. Some burns heal over days to weeks with wound care, while deeper burns may require surgery, grafting, therapy, or scar management over a longer period of time.

Regular wound care
Dressing changes
Monitoring for infection
Activity modifications
Compression or scar care when appropriate
Physical or occupational therapy when movement is affected
Follow-up visits to monitor healing
Additional procedures if scar tightness or contour problems develop

Patients should follow all wound care instructions closely. Keeping follow-up appointments is important because burns can evolve, scars can tighten, and treatment plans may need to be adjusted as healing progresses.

Planning / Burn Treatment

Burn Scar Contractures

As burns heal, scar tissue can tighten. When this tightness limits movement, it is called a contracture. Contractures are especially important when burns occur near joints, such as the fingers, hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, neck, knee, or ankle.

A contracture may make it difficult to straighten a finger, bend an elbow, turn the neck, open the hand, or move a joint normally. Over time, untreated contractures can interfere with daily function and may become harder to correct.

Tightness across a joint
Reduced range of motion
Pulling or restriction with movement
Thickened or raised scar tissue
Difficulty using the affected hand or limb
Pain or discomfort when stretching the area
Skin that feels tethered or shortened

Release of contractures can help improve function, mobility, and comfort. In some cases, contracture release may also improve the appearance of the affected area. Surgical planning may include scar release, skin grafting, local tissue rearrangement, flap reconstruction, or staged procedures depending on the location and severity.

Dr. Lovelace can evaluate scar tightness, function, and whether contracture release or another reconstructive option may help.

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Risks and Considerations

Burn injuries and burn reconstruction involve important risks and considerations. Some risks relate to the injury itself, while others relate to procedures such as skin grafting, flap reconstruction, or contracture release.

Infection
Delayed healing
Scarring
Contracture formation
Loss of motion
Skin color or texture changes
Graft loss or partial graft failure
Pain or sensitivity
Need for additional procedures
Contour irregularity
Changes in sensation

Careful evaluation, wound care, surgical planning, and follow-up help reduce risk and support the best possible outcome. Dr. Lovelace will explain the risks most relevant to your burn injury or scar concern.

What Results Can You Expect?

Results after burn treatment depend on the depth of the burn, location, treatment method, healing response, and whether reconstruction is needed. Some burns heal with minimal visible scarring. Deeper burns may leave scars, color changes, texture differences, or contour changes even with appropriate treatment.

Safe wound closure
Reduced infection risk
Protection of exposed tissue
Improved comfort
Preservation of movement
Reduction of scar tightness
Improved function
Improved contour or appearance when possible

Burn care is often a process rather than a single event. Initial treatment focuses on healing and wound closure. Later treatment may address scar quality, motion, contour, and appearance. Dr. Lovelace will discuss what is realistic based on the burn injury and tissue condition.

Care for First, Second, and Third Degree Burns, Burn Scars, Skin Grafting, and Functional Reconstruction

Burn injuries can affect the skin, underlying tissue, movement, comfort, sensation, and long-term appearance. Some burns heal with careful wound care, while deeper or more complex burns may require advanced treatment such as skin grafting, flap reconstruction, scar management, contracture release, or staged reconstructive procedures to improve function and contour.

At New Leaf Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery , Dr. Candis Lovelace evaluates and treats first, second, and third degree burns in Fort Worth. Burn care is focused on supporting safe healing, protecting important structures, reducing complications, preserving motion, and helping patients understand what to expect throughout recovery.

Burn treatment may address wound closure, movement, scar tightness, comfort, infection risk, and reconstruction. Burns involving the hands, face, neck, joints, or large areas of skin require careful evaluation because these areas can affect daily function and long-term quality of life.

Every burn is different. The right treatment depends on the depth of the burn, size of the injury, location, tissue health, age of the wound, infection risk, pain level, and whether movement or function is affected. Dr. Lovelace creates a personalized plan based on the patient’s injury, healing needs, and reconstructive goals.

If you have a burn that is deep, painful, blistering, slow to heal, limiting movement, or affecting the hands, face, joints, or large areas of skin, prompt evaluation is important.

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Meet the practice

Dr. Candis Lovelace, MD, FACS is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Her practice includes cosmetic surgery of the breast, body, and face, as well as reconstructive care.

New Leaf Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
4400 Heritage Trace Parkway, Suite 200
Fort Worth, TX 76244
817-380-1087

The office welcomes patients from Fort Worth and nearby communities, including Keller and Southlake. Contact the practice to plan your visit.

Prepare for your consultation

Bring your goals, relevant medical history, medication list, and questions about alternatives, risks, recovery, and costs. Ask which options are appropriate for you and what help or follow-up you may need.