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. High-voltage electric current, bilateral lower limb gangrene, bilateral above knee amputation.
Highlights
It is common to see high-voltage electric cables haphazardly slung or running across densely populated industrial, residential, or commercial premises in our environment
Electrical burns are generally uncommon in Nigeria and they constitute about 2.8% of all burns in this region
Studies in Nigeria showed that high-tension electric burns usually involve electricity workers or electrical installation vandals
Summary
It is common to see high-voltage electric cables haphazardly slung or running across densely populated industrial, residential, or commercial premises in our environment. Sometimes, these cables are ‘live’ with electricity even as they lie on the ground, hang negligently down from tree tops, and across farmlands, thereby posing serious safety challenges to the populace. High-tension electrical burns are not common among children in Nigeria. High-voltage electrical injuries often produce severe burns and blunt trauma. Such burns are often much worse than they initially appear. We present a case of bilateral lower limb gangrene in a child following high-tension electrical burn injury
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