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Handbook of Burns Volume 1 pp 529–547Cite as

Frostbite

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Abstract

Frostbite is a severe localized cold-induced injury caused by the freezing of soft tissue, secondary to exposure to temperatures below the freezing point of intact skin. It typically affects the peripheral upper and lower extremities but can also include areas of the face, such as the nose, cheeks, and ears. The sequelae of injury can be mild to severe, with treatment management ranging from watchful waiting to local wound care to major limb amputation. Intriguingly, it is a disease process that is unique in its vague initial presentation which can take a period of several months to determine the final demarcation of tissue damage. Given its nature of delayed presentation, a treatment guideline for early frostbite injuries remains elusive with no clear consensus of definitive intervention. As such, timely diagnosis, initial management, and patient education are vital in the prevention and provision of optimal treatment and tissue salvage in frostbite injuries [1].

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  1. Manitoba Firefighters Burn Unit, Section of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Christopher M. Nguyen, Rowan Chandler, Imran Ratanshi & Sarvesh Logsetty

  2. Section of General surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Sarvesh Logsetty

Authors
  1. Christopher M. Nguyen
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  2. Rowan Chandler
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  3. Imran Ratanshi
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  4. Sarvesh Logsetty
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarvesh Logsetty .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ross Tilley Burn Centre Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Marc G. Jeschke

  2. Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

    Lars-Peter Kamolz

  3. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Folke Sjöberg

  4. Department of Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Steven E. Wolf

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Nguyen, C.M., Chandler, R., Ratanshi, I., Logsetty, S. (2020). Frostbite. In: Jeschke, M., Kamolz, LP., Sjöberg, F., Wolf, S. (eds) Handbook of Burns Volume 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18940-2_42

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18940-2_42

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18939-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18940-2

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