<![CDATA[Background: Burns remain a major challenge in plastic surgery due to their high mortality and morbidity. Tangential excision, a surgical procedure to remove necrotic tissue while preserving viable tissue, should be performed as soon as possible, as it has been shown to decrease hospital stay in burns ≤30% TBSA. While early excision has shown benefits in smaller burns, evidence is lacking for larger burns and in resource-limited settings such as Indonesia. This study compared hospital stays among burn patients who underwent early versus delayed tangential excision.Methods: This retrospective cohort study included burn patients who were discharged alive and underwent early or delayed tangential excision between January 2023 and December 2024. We divided subjects into two groups: early excision and delayed excision. We analysed data using the Mann-Whitney test to assess differences in hospital stay between the two groups.Results: This study included 100 patients: 63 who underwent early tangential excision and 37 who underwent delayed tangential excision. The median TBSA was 29.5% (range 10–71%). The median length of hospitalisation was lower in the early excision group than in the delayed excision group, although not statistically significant (20 [5–49] vs 20 [7–66]; p=0.274).Conclusion: Although no statistically significant difference was observed, the trend toward shorter hospital stay in the early excision group provides important preliminary evidence to guide national burn protocols.]]>
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