title: [Electrical burns suffered by copper thieves].
abstract: Thefts of copper appear to have been on the increase for some time owing to its high resale price. This has led to an increase in the number of high-voltage electrical accidents (HVEA). Such accidents are very serious because they cause deep burns along the neurovascular axis. A report is presented describing a series of nine patients presenting HVEA admitted to the Ibn Sina Hospital Plastic Surgery and Burns Division in Rabat, Morocco, with a study of the epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic aspects. The patients all belonged to the young and active sector of the population. The burns were secondary to contact with high-voltage cables occurring during the attempted stealing of copper by stripping electric conductors in transformers (67% of the cases) and in attempts to cut overhead lines supplying electric trains on the railway network (33%). Electrothermal treatment of the lesions required repeated surgery with amputation and disarticulation of necrotic limb segments (67% of the cases), the consequences of which were marked by disabling functional sequelae. Preventing this type of HVEA remains fundamental.
authors.affiliation: Service de Chirurgie Plastique, Chirurgie de la Main et des Brûlés, Hôpital Ibn Sina, Rabat, Maroc.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Belmir
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fejjal
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Achbouk
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El Mazouz
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gharib
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abassi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belmahi