The burned hand: optimizing long-term outcomes with a standardized approach to acute and subacute care.

Deep partial- and full-thickness burns to the hands are common and the source of significant potential morbidity for the patient. This article emphasizes that when these burns are managed by an experienced team of burn surgeons, rehabilitation therapists, and nurses, using a standardized protocol, good long-term functional outcomes may be reliably obtained in most cases. The details of the author's standardized protocol, as well as late outcomes achieved using this approach, are discussed.