Update:
Doctors at Brook Army Medical Center are keeping Governor Greg Abbott in the hospital for at least another night. The governor's physicians recommended that Abbott take another day to recover and heal after undergoing surgery to repair areas of severely burned skin.
Abbott’s second and third degree burns from scalding hot water cover his lower legs and feet.
After undergoing a successful skin graft procedure at BAMC to repair the most severely burned areas on the governor’s feet, it was recommended that he remain in the hospital.
Abbott was originally admitted after doctors at BAMC discovered he was suffering from a bacterial infection related to the burns he suffered last week while on vacation in Wyoming.
Doctors have not said how long Abbott will remain in the hospital.
Abbott Being Treated For Scalding Burns at BAMC
Doctors at Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio admitted Gov. Greg Abbott to the hospital Monday after evaluating him for severe second and third degree burns received while on a family vacation at a resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The governor's office didn't release details of how the incident Thursday happened, but said Abbott was burned after scalding hot water spilled on his lower legs and feet.
Abbott is confined to a wheelchair due to a spinal injury, but still has feeling in his legs, and a spokesperson says he is in a great deal of pain.
The governor's office says doctors who examined him at BAMC determined Abbott had a bacterial infection related to the burns. On Tuesday he will undergo skin grafts.
Dr. Lillian Liao specializes in the treatment of burns at San Antonio’s University Hospital. She is not treating Abbott and the Governor's doctors aren't commenting, but Liao says skin grafts are common when a person has severe burns.
“Meaning we have to excise the entire burned area and put skin on it from another part of the body," Liao says.
Liao says when a burn is severe enough a person may forever lose his or her sense of touch in the affected area.
“Because when the entire dermis has been burned down to the fat, they may be some small nerve endings that are still left but a majority of that burn has basically demolished those nerve endings," Liao explains.
The governor’s procedure will involve local anesthesia. A spokesperson sasy he's then expected to return to Austin. The governor’s office says Abbott will not be able to attend the Tuesday memorial in Dallas for officers shot by a sniper.
