Measurement of Blood Volume Loss During Burn Surgery

Burn surgery is associated with significant reductions in hematocrit. However, it is unclear whether these reductions are the result of hemodilution from non-red cell containing intraoperative transfusions or from loss of red blood cells. The investigators will be using the Daxor Blood Volume Analyzer (BVA-100), an FDA approved instrument that can measure total blood volume, plasma volume, and RBC volume using the indicator dilution technique. By comparing pre-operative measurements of blood volume, plasma volume, and RBC volume to that of post-operative measurements after burn surgery, the investigators can determine the primary cause of the reduction in hematocrit associated with burn surgery. The investigators hypothesize that these reductions in hematocrit are primarily the result of hemodilution rather than blood loss and that there will be a statistically significant difference in measured plasma volume from the pre-operative group to the post-operative group.