Effect of Skin Temperature Management in Winter on the Complications of Expander and Skin Expansion Efficiency in Ear Reconstruction.

Objective: To explore the effect of home skin temperature management in winter on the complications of expander and skin expansion efficiency in ear reconstruction patients.

Methods: A total of 58 patients were involved and divided into control group and experimental group according to the different postoperative nursing methods. The control group was given routine nursing, and the experimental group received additional home hot compress guidance. At the end of expansion, complications, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, expansion time, and satisfaction score were used to evaluate the effect of the intervention.

Results: Compared with the control group, the experimental group had a significantly-lower wound-related complications rate (7.14% vs 28.57%), lower VAS score (2.68 ± 1.19 vs 4.32 ± 1.02), and shorter expansion time (82.36 ± 8.69 vs 89.79 ± 9.87 days). Patient satisfaction was significantly higher in the experimental group (92.86% vs 67.86%), P < .05.

Conclusions: During skin soft tissue expansion, home skin temperature management through hot compress can effectively reduce the incidence of complications, improve the expansion efficiency, reduce the pain of patients, and ultimately improve the overall satisfaction of patients.