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This is an epidemiological review of electrical burns admitted to the Service of Burns and Plastic Surgery, UHC "Mother Theresa" of Tirana, Albania, covering a four-year period, from 2019 to 2022. Twenty-seven patients were identified as having sustained an electrical burn injury, all of them males and most of them, namely 85%, belonging to the "working force" age group 19-65 years old. Most of the accidents, 70% of them, occurred at work, and these were all high voltage electrical burns. A total 65% of the cases had at least one of the upper limbs involved and the mean surface area burned was estimated at around 20% TBSA, mortality rate 11.1%, and all the fatal cases were from occupational burns. Serum level of BUN, creatinine and liver enzymes were evaluated on admission and at least 7 days after, with no significant changes. WBC count was found to be elevated in almost all the patients, and remained elevated in the second week and even longer for patients with sepsis. Four of our patients needed amputations. Besides these, no other serious complications were registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is aimed at describing the patterns and trends of burns among children in the past 25 years in Albania, a transitional post-communist country in the Western Balkans. It included all burned children admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the University Hospital Center "Mother Teresa" of Tirana in the past 5 years (i.e., 2018-2022). Overall, 275 children treated at the Service of Burns and Plastic Surgery were included in this analysis. Incidence of burns in children has importantly declined during the last 25 years. Of 275 children included in this study, 50.2% were boys and 49.8% were girls. The age range was from 2 months to 16 years. The number of children with burns declined progressively, but the lowest number was seen in 2020, which is explained by the Covid-19 pandemic. On the whole, the most affected age group is that of 1-3 year-olds. Regardless of age, hot liquids (51%) and pure hot water (39%) were the main causative agents of burns among children. There was an important decrease in the number of burns due to flame (from 18.5% to 7%) and chemical burns (from 5.9% to 1%). No electrical burns were found in the records. Most of the burned cases were burns of more than one site on the body, representing 35% of all the cases. Burns among children continue to constitute a significant burden of morbidity among Albanian children, which is a cause of concern. However, compared with 25 years ago, the total number of severely burned children has dropped in Albania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The electrical current burns represent a very aggressive pathology that leaves many functional and aesthetic consequences., Aim: To evaluate the epidemiology of electrical burn injury and its associated complications and treatment., Material and Methods: Demographic data, aetiology, burn percentage and other measures related to electrical burn injury of 33 electrical burn patients in a tertiary hospital during the years 2015-2017., Results: The mean age of patients is 31 (± 8.3) years old with a predominance of males (94%). The vast majority of injuries occurred at work (p < 0.01), superior extremities were more affected with hand (21.2%) and fingers (18.2%) being the main point of contact (p < 0.01). Muscular fasciotomy was performed in all patients who were treated surgically (n = 27), amputation was performed in 11 (40.7%) of cases, but amputated sites were more than the number of patients affected. Myoglobinuria (39.4%), cardio-respiratory distress (12.1%) contusion cerebri (6.1%), were the complication encountered in patients., Conclusions: Electrical burn injuries are still amongst the highest accident-related morbidities. Educating the population about the dangers and hazards associated with improper use of electrical devices and instruments is imperative.

Modern burn care is based on operative wound management. The evidence is clear that prompt excision and closure can be lifesaving for patients even with large burns. Facial burns that are full-thickness need grafting. Deep dermal facial burns need surgery in the third week post-burn. Deep burns to the eyelids should be excised and grafted early in order to prevent cicatricial ectropion and corneal exposure. Following healing from burns, the reconstruction of severe deformities and scars of the face, head, and neck confronts the surgeon with some of the most challenging problems in reconstructive surgery. Our purpose is to provide some retrospective data on acute and late reconstruction of head and neck burns in 2007. Eighty-one patients are considered who were operated on in the Burns and Plastic Surgery Service of the University Hospital Centre in Tirana, Albania, suffering from burns and also from burn deformities in the head and neck regions. A description is given of the different types of operative techniques used for head and neck reconstruction as also of developmental aspects of burned face deformities (physical and psychological) and of their correction. In all, 246 patients with burns and burn deformities were subjected to surgery in 2007. Of these we have extracted 81 cases in which the pathology concerned the head and the neck, including 13 cases of full-thickness facial burns needing excising and grafting. The other 68 cases were burn deformities. This last group of patients included 19 with facial deformities, 14 with perioral deformities, 12 with burn alopecia, ten with upper and lower eyelid deformities, nine with ear deformities, and four with cervical deformities. The operative techniques used were skin grafts (split-thickness or full-thickness), composite grafts, pedicle flaps, and tissue replacement. In burn alopecia cases, we used tissue expansion for the correction. Head and neck burns constitute some of the most challenging problems in acute wound care and in the subsequent rehabilitation and reconstruction.With knowledge of the reconstruction techniques available, plus an accurate diagnosis of tissue deficiency and secondary distortion, a carefully performed surgical plan is the first step for achieving improvements in a burn-deformed face.

Hand contractures are still a problem in everyday plastic surgery practice. We decided to review the hand contractures we had treated over a 5-yr period (2000-2004) and to present some guidelines for their prevention. In the 5-yr period we operated on 206 patients with hand contractures. The number of patients demonstrates that not infrequently our plastic surgeons still have to treat this condition. The age group most liable to this form of burns sequelae is that of children up to five years old, because of the deeper burns they suffer in the hands. The surgical approach to post-burn contractures of the hand is discussed from three aspects: the skin aspect, the osteotendinous aspect, and the wound closure procedure. The discussion puts special stress on the risk of impairing blood supply to the distal phalanges, which is related not only to the involvement of the arteries in the scar tissue but also to spasms or accidental damage in the digital arteries. Special attention must be paid when the fifth finger is interested.