Healing will occur spontaneously, but it will require a week to 10 days. Scar formation usually is not a problem, although patients may exhibit pigmentation changes in skin tone because of the destruction of melanocytes located in the epidermis. This type of burn extends downward into the reticular, or deeper, layer of the dermis, and it presents as mixed red or waxy white. 8 Areas of redness will continue to blanch when pressure is applied to them, but capillary refill will be sluggish once the pressure has been released. Blisters are usually absent, but the exposed surface of the wound is wet or moist, similar to the superficial partial-thickness burn.
Sensation is altered in a deep partial-thickness burn.
Appreciation of superficial pain by pinprick is absent, but the patient can report feeling the pressure applied by the pin. This differentiation is due to preservation of the Pacinian corpuscle located in the deep reticular dermis, which transmits the sense of pressure and vibration. Destruction of superficial nerve endings eliminates the effect of withdrawal from light touch or pinprick. In areas of deep partial-thickness burn, edema will be marked. Healing will occur spontaneously in approximately 2 to 3 weeks, but it will occur through the process of granulation tissue formation and epithelialization, resulting in dense scar formation.