Bilateral Lower Limb Amputations in a Nigerian Child Following High-Voltage Electrical Burns Injury: A Case Report

Abstract

The human body conducts electricity very well. Direct contact with electric current can be lethal. The passage of electric current through the body is capable of producing a wide spectrum of injuries, including serious damage to the heart, brain, skin and muscles. Naked high-voltage electric cables negligently abandoned in residential, commercial and industrial areas are a recipe for disaster. This is a case report of a 5-year girl child who had bilateral lower limb gangrene following electrical burns injury. She presented with a fourday history of electrical burns injuries of both lower limbs including both gluteal regions, associated with a three-day history of fever, with full thickness burns and sepsis, ultimately leading to bilateral above knee guillotine amputations.

Keywords

• High-voltage electric current
• bilateral lower limb gangrene
• bilateral above knee amputation