Occult brain tumour presenting with burns

An elderly male patient sustained mixed depth burns of 5% total body surface area. The incident was associated with inappropriate behaviour and subsequent clinical examination confirmed the presence of confusion and a hemiparesis. A CT scan revealed an intracranial tumour. Despite early suspicions that tumour excision would be delayed, wound healing was achieved quickly following tangential burn wound excision and skin grafting, and prompt transfer to a neurosurgical unit was expedited. Cases of burns and concomitant intracranial tumours with deteriorating neurological signs may present clinicians with a dilemma in deciding whether or not to await burn wound healing before carrying out tumour excision.