Burned Skin Removed From Teen Struck by Electricity

Four surgical teams labored for more than two hours Tuesday morning at a San Fernando Valley hospital to remove burned skin from the back and legs of a 17-year-old Newbury Park youth struck by high-voltage electricity while practicing a rock-climbing technique off a power company tower.

Michael Halsell received third-degree burns over 85% of his body on March 11 when he was struck by as much as 220,000 volts, setting him and his clothes afire.

He remained in extremely critical condition after Tuesday’s operation at the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital, spokesman Larry Weinberg said. Doctors spent more than two hours removing dead tissue and covering the wounds with cadaver skin to ward off infection. They also began the process of reconstructing Michael’s face, using skin cells grown in a lab.

Dr. A. Richard Grossman, the burn center’s medical director, expressed amazement that Michael survived his near electrocution, saying his injuries would have killed most people on the spot. Although doctors are encouraged by Michael’s continued survival, they say his chances remain slim.

While the center’s doctors and nurses are concerned about the extent of muscle and nerve damage in Michael’s arms, they have so far encountered no problems with infection, one of the biggest potential dangers.

If his condition holds steady, the next round of surgery would begin next week.

Newbury Park High School students continue to visit the hospital after school and rally around their classmate. Support for Michael, a member of the high school wrestling team, is strong. More than 80 students had signed up by Tuesday to give blood for him.

The students have also organized fund-raisers to help Michael’s family.

School counselor Richard Intlekofer said students caught up in the frenzy of activity are handling the crisis well.

“What has helped is the students have really banded together to help Mike and the family,” he said.

A study by the American Burn Assn. found that those who suffer burns over more than 80% of their body have no better than a 50-50 chance of survival, association secretary Dr. Jeffrey Saffle said.

“It all depends on the magnitude of the injury,” he said. “There’s nothing un-survivable about a high voltage electrical injury, but obviously as burn size goes up, survival goes down.”

Survival chances decrease still further, he said, if most of the burns are severe, such as third-degree burns.