Man undergoes 10 surgeries after suffering severe burns

A freak accident burnt the entire right side of his body. But seven months and 10 surgeries later, Ravi (name changed) has almost recovered, a hospital here said Friday.

The 23-year old management graduate received severe electric shocks and burn injuries after his mobile phone accidentally came in contact with a high tension wire on the roof of his house.

In a fraction of a second, 11,000 volts of high voltage current entered Ravi's body through the mobile into his ears and exited into the earth through the lower part of his body.

The mobile burst near his ear and resulted in severe third degree electrical burns on the right side of his face, groin and thigh.

Ravi was unconscious for 45 minutes, after which he got up on his own but was unable to remember the sequence of events.

The patient was initially treated in Gwalior. He was later referred Aug 3, 2013 to the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here.

"Accidental contact with high voltage electricity may result in severe injury or death. This can occur as a person's body provides a path for current flow, causing tissue damage and heart failure," Swaroop Singh Gambhir, associate consultant, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the hospital said in a release issued Friday.

"This is the first time in my career that I saw such severe electrical burns due to a mobile blast. When we first saw the patient, he had severe third degree burns on the right side of the face, groin and penile area. The burns were so extensive on the face that the facial bone was burnt," he said.

"The challenge for us was to salvage whatever tissues were remaining, prevent infection and reconstruct the damaged structures to as near normal as possible. This required multiple surgeries and regular follow ups," he added.

Gambhir said: "In the past eight months, Ravi has undergone 10 surgeries. With these surgeries, we managed to cover the facial bones and give him near normal skin. Along with this, his groin, thighs and penile area have also been reconstructed."

Ravi will undergo his 11th surgery which is for reconstruction of eyelids and implanting of eye ball. He will require further surgeries for eyebrows, eyelashes and beard reconstruction. In the next about six months, the patient should be near to normal, the hospital said.