A 23-year-old male has partial thickness burns to his anterior thighs and full thickness burns to his perineum. What percent of his body surface area is burned?

To determine the percentage of body surface area burned in this scenario, we can use the "rule of nines," a method commonly used to estimate burn area in adults. According to this rule:

• The anterior (front) of each leg accounts for 9% of the total body surface area, meaning both anterior thighs contribute a total of 18%.
• The perineum, which is often considered part of the genital area, contributes an additional 1% to the total body surface area.

Since the patient has partial thickness burns to the anterior thighs (18%) and full thickness burns to the perineum (1%), we add these percentages together:

18% (anterior thighs) + 1% (perineum) = 19%.

The correct answer is therefore 19%, which corresponds to the full extent of the burns in this case. This estimation highlights the importance of accurately assessing burn areas in trauma patients for effective management and treatment planning.