17 year old girl burned all over her body by candle glue, had to have 15 surgeries

(Dan Tri) - While preparing for a performance at school, a 17-year-old girl was burned by a friend with silicone glue, burning her clothes and causing severe burns.

On November 15, speaking with Dan Tri reporter, a representative of Le Van Thinh Hospital (HCMC) said that over the past 4 months, doctors here have treated a case of very severe burns after a heartbreaking accident.

Doctor checks patient's wound (Photo: Hoang Le).

Burned all over body by candle glue, had to have 15 surgeries

Patient T. (17 years old, residing in Ca Mau province), was hospitalized with skin-damaged wounds all over his body, on top of large burns on his torso and limbs.

According to the medical history, the accident happened in February. While T. was preparing a performance for a school performance, a friend nearby used a lighter to burn silicone glue, causing the newspaper costume stuck to her body to burst into flames.

Upon discovering the incident, people nearby tried to put out the fire but were unsuccessful. As a result, T.’s body turned into a “living torch”, burning from his back, chest, arms, and both sides down to his thighs.

The patient was then taken to a local medical facility for emergency treatment, before being transferred to a hospital in Can Tho City and a tertiary hospital in Ho Chi Minh City due to the severity of his injuries.

After a long period of intensive treatment, T. was transferred to Le Van Thinh Hospital by her family for further care and recovery. Upon arrival, the young woman was diagnosed with burns and large contracted scars, covering 48% of her 2nd-3rd degree burns.

Doctor Lai Bat Pham, Department of Orthopedics, Le Van Thinh Hospital said that before being admitted to the hospital, the patient had undergone 7 skin grafting and debridement surgeries.

During the treatment, the skin graft wounds on the back ulcerated widely from the unhealed site and increased fluid. At the same time, the patient had severe scarring and contractures of the elbows and fingers on both sides.

After a thorough examination, the treatment team planned to support the patient's general condition and provide intensive wound care for optimal healing. The patient was also cultured and tested for multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas.

The patient had to undergo many surgeries and skin grafts (Photo: Hoang Le).

At this time, the girl was given appropriate antibiotics and continued to apply fatty gauze to help the wound improve and no longer discharge pus.

During more than 4 months of treatment, the doctors performed a total of 8 major and minor surgeries to remove necrosis, graft skin, release scar tissue from the right elbow joint and the 5th finger of the right hand, combined with nutritional supplements and support for the patient's general condition.

Thanks to the perseverance of the treatment team, the patient, who had severe skin defects and limb contractures, was able to wear a shirt in November, and was able to do activities independently, and had more physical therapy than before.

On November 14, the female student was discharged from the hospital to return home, to the joy of her family and the medical staff of Le Van Thinh Hospital.

Determined to preserve the ability to write, nurturing the patient's future

Doctor Ngo Van Quoc, Head of the Department of Trauma Surgery, Le Van Thinh Hospital, said that from the beginning, the goal that the treatment team set was to try to treat the contracted scar, restore maximum mobility, so that the patient could live independently and especially be able to write by hand, because T. is a 12th grade student.

Currently, the patient has had her right elbow released. In the near future, the female student will need to continue to receive physical support to be healthy enough, as well as depending on her school schedule, to arrange surgery to release her other elbow. This surgery requires about 10 days of treatment, so it can be carried out during the upcoming Tet holiday.

Doctor Phan Van Duc, Deputy Director of Le Van Thinh Hospital, shared that the patient's treatment process in the past cost a lot of money (about 200 million VND).

The patient was fortunate to have the support of the Ca Mau Association, combined with the expertise of the doctors, along with an optimistic spirit and a very strong mentality to be able to fight the disease for a long time.

The patient was able to move his hand to write and return to school (Photo: Hoang Le).

From being unable to sleep, the patient is now able to perform basic activities on his own, his skin has gradually healed, preparing for reintegration into the community, especially returning to school to nurture his dream.

This is also one of the first cases in which the Trauma Surgery Department of Le Van Thinh Hospital has completely mastered the techniques for treating burn sequelae, after a long period of professional support from Cho Ray Hospital.

Doctors recommend that when encountering a burn accident, initial treatment is very important. Specifically, when burned, first aid must be given to the victim immediately by rinsing the burn with cool water for 15-20 minutes, absolutely do not rinse with ice cold water because it can continue to cause frostbite.

The victim should then be taken to a medical facility with a burn specialist for examination and appropriate treatment.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/thieu-nu-17-tuoi-bi-ban-dot-keo-nen-lam-chay-khap-nguoi-phai-mo-15-lan-20251115135315522.htm