Plastic surgeons at Brno University Hospital (FN Brno) in Bohunice have successfully restored a patient’s hand mobility using tissue from his groin, after he sustained serious injuries from contact with a high-voltage electrical current. FN Brno is the only medical facility in the Czech Republic which specialises in such procedures.
At the beginning of the summer, the hospital admitted a patient who was seriously injured after being struck by a high-voltage electrical current. The patient suffered circulatory arrest and deep burns, especially on the hands and toes.
Immediately after the accident, he was provided with first aid by a colleague, who was replaced after 20 minutes by the South Moravian Medical Rescue Service. After 30 minutes of resuscitation by paramedics, he was brought to the Department of Anesthesiology, Resuscitation and Intensive Medicine at FN Brno, from where he was subsequently transferred to the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, to the intensive care unit of the Burn Center.
The man was in danger not only from his severe burns, but also the neurological consequences of the electrocution, with a high risk of brain damage. However, his condition progressed very well and he was brought back to full consciousness the next day. Initially he suffered from short-term memory loss, but after a few days his neurological condition fully normalized.
Doctors from the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, led by department head Dr. Libor Streit, then began a series of operations. The man underwent several procedures, including two complex microsurgical reconstructions – one in the hand area, where the damage was caused by the input of electric current, and the other in the left leg area, which was burned by its output.
“Specifically, we reconstructed the irreversibly damaged parts of his thumb and index finger using a free SCIP flap, which we transferred from the groin, and at the same time we replaced the damaged nerves on these fingers,” said Dr. Streit, a leading expert in the Czech Republic on plastic microsurgical operations. “We also closed the defect on the big toe, including the tendons, by transferring the temporal fascia, which is tissue from the temporal region, which served both as a cover for the defect and, with its strength, replaced the missing tendon. This way, we avoided amputations that would significantly impair the function of the limbs.”
Microsurgical reconstructions in burn patients are among the priority goals of the Burns and Plastic Surgery Clinic. Doctors at the clinic also perform similar operations on patients with deforming scars after burns, and they also specialize in joint contractures that limit movement. In the last year, the clinic has focused on surgical techniques that allow burn patients to replace missing parts of the face, such as the nose, eyelids or auricle, with a huge benefit for their future health.
Similar plastic reconstructions are not typically performed at other burn centers in the Czech Republic, nor at other plastic surgery departments. This program at FN Brno is completely unique in the Czech Republic, and so treats patients from all over the country.
