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Trauma and Poisoning
Published in Walter F. Stanaszek, Mary J. Stanaszek, Robert J. Holt, Steven Strauss, Understanding Medical Terms, 2020
Walter F. Stanaszek, Mary J. Stanaszek, Robert J. Holt, Steven Strauss
Extremely high temperatures also cause burns, although the term burn technically applies to tissue injury from electrical or chemical insult as well as thermal injuries. Burns can be classified as superficial, in which regeneration occurs rapidly from uninjured epidermal elements* or deep burns, which destroy the epidermis and much of the dermis. Electrical burns result from heat generated at the point of skin contact with the conductor, the area of highest electrical resistance, which can reach temperatures up to 5000° Celsius. Because of the intense heat, tissue damage is often more severe and widespread than at first apparent. Chemical burns result from exposure to irritating chemicals of various types and may slowly extend for several hours. Inhalation burns usually are caused by inhalation of the products of incomplete combustion, which are irritants, rather than by heat. Usually, only steam inhalation causes actual thermal damage to the respiratory tract.
Trauma
Published in Spencer W. Beasley, John Hutson, Mark Stringer, Sebastian K. King, Warwick J. Teague, Paediatric Surgical Diagnosis, 2018
Spencer W. Beasley, John Hutson, Mark Stringer, Sebastian K. King, Warwick J. Teague
Approximately two-thirds of burns in childhood are due to hot liquids (scalds) and occur in the home. Knowledge of the causative agents is helpful in anticipating the likely severity of the burn. In general, the depth of a thermal burn depends on the temperature generated by the causative agent, the length of time the skin was exposed and the physical characteristics of the heat source. For example, petroleum products generate very much more heat than hot water for a given length of time of exposure. In electrical burns, all tissues between the entry and exit points of the current may be damaged. Skin is a poor conductor, so is less affected than the underlying muscle, nerves and blood vessels, masking the true seriousness of the injury.
Chronic Pain Following Electrical Injury
Published in Gary W. Jay, Practical Guide to Chronic Pain Syndromes, 2016
Electrical injury survivors commonly suffer from pain symptoms related to lingering effects of burn wounds, and subsequent fibrosis and scar formation. Electrical burn scars can often remain inflamed for a prolonged period of time, leading to painful, pruritic, and hypertrophic scaring (2). In addition to pain directly associated with the burn injury itself at the contact site and pain caused by tissue regeneration, electrical injured patients can experience intense, longer-lasting tingling and itching sensations that are almost equal in discomfort to the pain itself (35). Electrical burn scars can be stiff and often entrap nerves, leading to compression and decreased conductance. The time for the fibrosis to develop, progress, and cause a compressive neuropathy can explain the potential lack of a direct temporal relationship between the electrical injury and the peripheral neuropathy (43, 46).
Utilization of Perifascial Loose Areolar Tissue Grafting as an Autologous Dermal Substitute in Extremity Burns
Published in Journal of Investigative Surgery, 2023
Burak Özkan, Burak Ergün Tatar, Abbas Albayati, Cagri Ahmet Uysal
A 35-year-old man sustained high-voltage electrical burns. He had third-degree lower and upper extremity burns on 8% of the total body surface. He underwent immediate debridement and peroneus brevis muscle flap reconstruction to cover the exposed lower one-third of the defect. The tibialis anterior tendon and distal one-third of the fibula became exposed 2 weeks after the operation (Figure 8). In a second operation, a PAT graft was harvested from the abdomen and applied on the exposed tibialis anterior tendon. The PAT graft was laid over the exposed tendon, with full contact to the surrounding granulation tissue. It was simultaneously covered with a meshed skin graft at a meshing ratio of 3:1 (Figure 9). The PAT grafts completely survived. The skin graft showed partial necrosis. The patient was followed up with conventional wound care, and the defects were fully epithelized in 1 month after the operation. An image of the patient taken 6 months after the operation is shown in Figure 10.
Application of multi-component fluid model in studies of the origin of skin burns during electrosurgical procedures
Published in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, 2021
Marija Radmilović-Radjenović, Martin Sabo, Branislav Radjenović
The term ‘electrical burn’ is usually used to indicate the variety of injuries caused by supraphysiologic electrical energy interacting with living tissue, often linked to electrosurgical procedures. Electrical injuries occur when the human body comes in contact with an electrical source, either directly or through material that is a conductor. Interference between electrosurgical energy and active implants has been thoroughly discussed in the scientific literature (Saaiq et al. 2012; Park et al. 2014; Bae et al. 2018, Martinsen et al. 2019). Both alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) produce a wide variety of biological effects at the cellular and tissue levels (Phillips et al. 2008). The higher the voltage and amperage, the greater the ensuing electrical injury (for the same duration of exposure) (Petri et al. 2017).