Can I have plastic surgery the same day as my consultation?

This is usually less likely, unless it is a very small procedure done under local anaesthesia and a procedure room slot is available. Singapore MOH regulation also mandates at least a one-week cooling period following consultation for local patients. Additional medical clearance or tests may be required prior to surgery.

Can I have a video consultation/telemedicine consultation?

Yes. Video consultations are suitable especially for out-of-town patients. For local patients, in-person consultation is still preferred. Video consultations will not be recorded and require pre-payment.

I want to do surgery, but I’m so afraid of the pain. What should I do?

It’s expected to have some pain after surgery. At Argent, appropriate analgesia (oral, local anesthesia, or patient-controlled analgesia) will be provided. Supportive garments may also be used postoperatively to reduce swelling and improve comfort.

Can I have more than one procedure done during the same surgery?

Yes, it is possible to combine multiple procedures, depending on the surgery type and postoperative care needs. For more extensive surgeries, sometimes procedures are staged to ensure maximal safety and optimal outcomes.

Should I bring someone along with me during the consultation?

Bringing a close friend, family member, or spouse can provide emotional support. However, if you come alone, that is also acceptable—Dr Lee Hanjing will provide a written discussion of the procedures and cover your questions.

What should I bring to the consultation?

Bring your full medical and surgical history, current medications and supplements, and a list of questions you wish to ask. This helps the surgeon better understand your needs and propose a suitable plan.

Is there a consultation fee?

Yes. Dr Lee Hanjing performs consultations personally, taking time to understand your concerns, examine you, and create a customized plan. The consultation fee reflects this level of personal care and expertise.

Paediatric Burns Treatment in Singapore

A burn injury in a child can be one of the most distressing things a parent will face, and in the first minutes after it happens, what you do matters more than almost anything that follows. The right first aid can limit the damage. The right specialist assessment afterwards can shape whether a scar becomes permanent, or whether function in the affected area is preserved.

Argent Plastic Surgery offers paediatric burns assessment and treatment in Singapore, performed by Dr Lee Hanjing, a fellowship-trained specialist plastic surgeon, specialising in managing both paediatric and adults, at Mount Alvernia Hospital. We provide specialist assessment, minor burn wound care, burn scar management, and reconstruction for children. For acute or severe burns requiring emergency intervention, Dr Lee will refer families to KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) or Singapore General Hospital (SGH) where appropriate.

Understanding Paediatric Burns

Paediatric burns refer to burns that occur in children, ranging from minor burns that can be treated at home to severe burns requiring immediate medical attention. Burns in children can be more serious than in adults due to children’s thinner skin, which causes them to suffer deeper burns from shorter exposure to heat.

Burns are classified by how deep they go, and the depth matters because it determines what treatment is needed.

Burn Degree	Affected Skin Layers	Visual Appearance & Sensation	Usual Treatment Setting
First-Degree	Outermost layer (Epidermis only)	Red, dry, sore; resembles mild sunburn. No blisters.	Managed at home with cooling and moisturiser; resolves in days.
Superficial Second-Degree	Upper Dermis	Moist, bright pink, highly painful with fluid-filled blisters.	Outpatient specialist clinic or GP care; heals in 2–3 weeks.
Deep Second-Degree	Lower Dermis	Mottled red/white, less painful (damaged nerves); slow to heal.	Hospital burn unit or specialist plastic surgery care to prevent severe scarring.
Third-Degree	Full Thickness (Fat, muscle, or bone)	Dry, white, brown, or charred black; leathery texture; numb to touch.	Immediate Hospital Emergency Room (KKH / SGH) for urgent surgical debridement and grafting.

Treatment decisions depend on the degree of the burn, its size, where on the body it is, and the age of the child. A specialist assessment determines whether the burn can be safely managed in a clinic, or whether a hospital referral is the right step. Paediatric burn treatment in Singapore is delivered across several settings, with hospital burns units handling severe injuries and private specialist input often used for assessment, scar work, and reconstruction once the acute phase has passed.

Common Causes of Paediatric Burns

Burns in children come from a small number of recognisable sources. Knowing them helps with both prevention and with judging how serious a particular injury is likely to be.

Scalds from Hot Liquids

Scald burns occur when a child's skin comes in contact with hot liquids, such as boiling water, tea, coffee, or soup. These burns are most common in children under five and can cause severe injuries in seconds.

Flame Injuries

Children can suffer burns from direct contact with open flames, such as candles, fireplaces, lighters, or sparklers. Flame burns can cause deep tissue damage and may result in complications if not treated promptly.

Electrical Burns

Electrical burns happen when a child comes into contact with a live socket, exposed wiring, or a faulty appliance. They are particularly important to take seriously because the visible mark on the skin can be small, while the injury beneath is much greater. Electricity travels through the deeper tissues and can affect muscle and nerve well below the surface. For this reason, an electrical burn should always be reviewed by a doctor even when the skin looks largely intact.

Chemical Burns

Chemical burns occur when a child's skin or eyes come in contact with harmful substances such as household cleaners, bleach, or battery acid. These burns can significantly damage the skin and other tissues and require immediate attention.

First Aid for Paediatric Burns

Immediate Steps to Take

Cool the burn with running water (cool, not ice-cold): The first and most important step in treating a burn is cooling it with cool (not cold) running water for 10–20 minutes. This helps reduce pain, limit the severity of the burn, and prevent further tissue damage.
Avoid applying ice and home remedies (butter, oil): Do not press ice directly to the burn, as it can worsen the injury by causing frostbite or tissue damage. Likewise, traditional remedies such as butter should be avoided, as they can trap heat within the skin and increase the risk of infection.
Cover the burn with a clean non-stick sterile dressing: After cooling the burn, protect it with a clean, non-stick dressing, such as gauze or a sterile bandage. This will help shield the wound from bacteria and prevent further injury. Avoid using fluffy cotton or adhesive bandages, as they can stick to the burn and cause pain when removed.
Watch your child closely for signs of shock or distress. A child who becomes pale, drowsy, unusually lethargic, or disoriented after a burn should be taken for medical attention straight away, regardless of the size of the visible injury.

These steps reduce the severity of a burn in the critical first minutes. They are not a substitute for a doctor's assessment, and any significant burn should be reviewed by a clinician once first aid is complete.

When to Seek Medical Attention

While some burns can be treated at home, others require immediate medical care. Knowing

when to see a doctor can result in a better outcome for your child.

Take your child for urgent medical assessment if any of the following apply:

The burn is larger than the size of your child's palm
The burn is on the face, hands, feet, joints, or genital area
The burn is deep, or shows blisters, white patches, or skin that looks charred or leathery
The burn was caused by chemicals or electricity
There are signs of infection, including increasing redness, swelling, warmth, pus, foul odour, or fever
Your child is under five and the burn is anything more than a small, superficial mark
You are unsure how serious the burn is

When in doubt, have it assessed. A short consultation is always preferable to a complication discovered late.

Severe or extensive burns are best managed at a hospital with a dedicated paediatric burns service. In Singapore, that means the Children's Emergency at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), or the Burns Centre at Singapore General Hospital (SGH). For minor burns that do not need hospital admission, for follow-up once the acute phase has passed, and for the scar work that often comes later, a private specialist consultation with a plastic surgery clinic is appropriate. This is where Argent Plastic Surgery sits in the pathway for burns treatment for children in Singapore.

Argent's role within this pathway is well-defined. We see children with minor burns where a clinic setting is appropriate, we provide post-acute follow-up after a hospital admission, and we provide the scar management and reconstruction that often becomes the longest part of the journey. For acute, extensive, or third-degree injuries, we refer directly to KKH or SGH and do not attempt to manage these in a private clinic. Honesty about what we can and cannot do safely is fundamental to any paediatric burns procedure in Singapore, and it is the part of our practice we hold to most strictly.

How Argent Can Help: Burn Wound Care and Scar Management

For children whose burns have moved past the acute phase, or whose burns are minor enough to be managed in a clinic from the start, our role at Argent Plastic Surgery sits across three areas. Dr Lee Hanjing assesses each child personally, and the recommendation depends on the individual injury and the family's circumstances. Some children will be best served by a single appointment for reassurance. Others will need ongoing care over months or years. We will say plainly which it is.

Minor Burn Wound Care

For a small, superficial burn that does not require hospital admission, we provide assessment, wound dressing, infection prevention, and follow-up review until the wound has healed. Antibiotics are used where they are clinically indicated, not by default. Most minor burns heal without surgical intervention. Our role is to give the wound the best chance of healing cleanly, and to flag early if the picture changes and a referral is needed.

Burn Scar Management

Once a burn has healed, the next question is the scar it has left behind. Scar work in children is usually layered, drawing on more than one method over time. The options we use include:

Silicone therapy. Silicone gel or sheets, applied once the wound is closed, soften and flatten the scar over months of consistent use. This is often the foundation of paediatric scar care.

Laser therapy. Vascular and resurfacing lasers can reduce the redness, thickness, and pigmentation of a burn scar, and may help reduce itch and tightness. The choice of laser and the timing of treatment depend on the scar.

Steroid injections. For hypertrophic or keloid scars that have become raised, firm, or itchy, intralesional steroid injections can soften the scar and reduce its bulk over a series of sessions.

Surgical revision. Where a scar restricts movement, distorts a feature, or has matured into a thick band that the gentler methods cannot reach, scar revision surgery is considered. This includes scar contracture release, where a tight scar across a joint is reshaped to restore range of motion.

The right combination is decided after assessment. In children, scar management is often a longer arc than parents expect, in part because the scar continues to change as the child grows.

Reconstruction After Burns

For children left with tissue loss from severe burns, reconstructive options can include skin grafting, local flap procedures, and staged reconstruction over time. The complexity of paediatric burns surgery in Singapore varies considerably from case to case, and the decision about where it is best performed, whether at a private hospital such as Mount Alvernia or within a hospital burns service, is made on the merits of the individual case. Where the right pathway is a public hospital admission, we will say so and refer accordingly.

Preventing Burns in Children

Most childhood burns happen at home, and most are preventable. A few practical measures, taken before anything has gone wrong, change the odds substantially.

Childproofing the Kitchen and Bathroom

Keep hot liquids, cooking appliances and chemicals out of reach. Use the back rings of the hob where possible, and turn pan handles inwards. Fit childproof locks on oven doors. In the bathroom, installing a thermostatic mixing valve at the tap is a small, one-time fix that caps the maximum temperature of the water coming out, and it is one of the single most effective ways to prevent a serious scald.

Supervise Around Heat

Never leave hot food or drinks within a child's reach as hot drinks can remain capable of causing a scald for around fifteen minutes after it is made. Also always supervise children when using appliances such as kettles, toasters, or irons.

Cover Sockets and Tidy Cords

Use socket covers, keep extension leads out of sight, and replace damaged cords promptly. Electrical injuries are less common than scalds, but they tend to be more serious when they happen.

Teach Age-Appropriately

Older children can be taught what is hot, why it matters, and how to keep clear. Younger children rely entirely on the adults around them to organise the environment so that injury is harder to come by.

Support and Recovery After a Burn Injury

The treatment of a burn does not end when the wound has closed. Recovery in children is often a longer, quieter process that runs across months or years, and it involves more than the visible scar.

Dressing changes, medications, and follow-up. In the weeks after a burn, the wound is reviewed regularly, dressings are changed, and any medication is adjusted as the wound progresses. Most children settle into a predictable rhythm with this, and the team supports parents through the practical side of it.

Physical therapy. For burns over or near a joint, early movement and gentle stretching help prevent the scar tissue from tightening as it matures. Where it is needed, physiotherapy works alongside the surgical and scar care to preserve range of motion.

Psychological support. A burn can leave a mark that is not on the skin. Some children carry anxiety afterwards, around the event itself, around medical settings, or around how the scar looks. A small number develop symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress. Where this is the case, counselling and family support, ideally early, can make a real difference. Parents also carry the experience, and the support is for them too.

For complex burns, care is delivered by a multidisciplinary team that may include plastic surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and psychologists. At Argent Plastic Surgery, our role sits within that wider framework. We work alongside the other professionals involved in a child's care, and we are clear with families about who is doing what.

If you would like Dr Lee Hanjing to review your child's burn or burn scar, a private consultation can be arranged through the details below.

Book a consultation for paediatric burn treatment today.

Frequently Asked Questions About Paediatric Burns Treatment

When should I take my child to the hospital for a burn?

Take your child directly to a hospital emergency department for any burn that is larger than the palm of their hand, involves the face, hands, feet, joints, or genitals, looks deep or blistered, was caused by chemicals or electricity, or shows signs of infection.

In Singapore, KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) and Singapore General Hospital (SGH) both have services equipped for severe paediatric burns. We complement that care by working alongside with parents for the next steps, offering personalised follow-up, minor burn care, and thorough scar management as your child heals.

What are the signs of infection in a burn wound?

Can a burn leave a permanent scar on my child?

While most minor superficial burns fade over time, deeper second- and third-degree burns may leave permanent changes in skin texture and colour, as children’s bodies grow rapidly and scar tissue can become tight over time. Early specialist assessment and consistent scar management, using methods such as silicone therapy, laser treatment, steroid injections, and where appropriate scar revision surgery, can make a meaningful difference to how the scar matures over time. Outcomes vary considerably from child to child, which is why a personalised plan and ongoing review tend to do more than any single intervention.

What is the recovery process like for a child with a severe burn?

Recovery from a severe burn typically unfolds over months, sometimes longer. The early phase focuses on wound healing and infection prevention, with regular dressing changes and review. As the wound closes, the focus shifts to scar management and, where joints are involved, physical therapy to preserve movement. Surgery, where it is needed, may be staged over time. Psychological support runs alongside this for both the child and the family. The path is not always linear, and a steady team supporting the family through it tends to matter as much as the individual treatments do.

Are there any long-term effects of a burn injury on a child?

Where can I get paediatric burns treatment in Singapore?

Paediatric burns treatment in Singapore is provided across several settings. For severe or acute burns, KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) and Singapore General Hospital (SGH) deliver hospital-based care. For minor burns that are suitable for clinic management, for post-acute follow-up once the worst has passed, and for the scar management and reconstruction that may follow, Argent Plastic Surgery offers private specialist consultation with Dr Lee Hanjing at Mount Alvernia Hospital.

What burn scar treatments are available for children in Singapore?

For children, burn scar treatment in Singapore is usually layered rather than relying on any single method. Silicone gels and sheets are often the foundation, applied once the wound is closed and continued over months. Laser therapy can reduce redness, thickness, and pigmentation. Steroid injections soften raised, hypertrophic, or keloid scars over a series of sessions. Where a scar restricts movement or causes significant functional or aesthetic concern, surgical revision is considered. The right combination depends on the scar, the child's age, and how the scar is changing over time, and the plan is reviewed regularly.

Is paediatric burns treatment covered by insurance in Singapore?

The cost and price of paediatric burns care in Singapore vary depending on the severity of the injury, the setting where treatment is given, and the procedures involved. Where a burn results from an accident, both accident and hospitalisation insurance often apply, and many policies cover both the acute treatment and the follow-up care that may include scar work or reconstruction. The simplest starting point is to contact your insurer directly to confirm what your policy covers, and to ask about pre-authorisation if surgery is being considered. Our team can help with the documentation insurers typically request once a treatment plan is in place.