“Drill holes” made on exposed scalp bone promotes secondary intention healing of extended scalp laceration wounds: A Mbabane Government Hospital approach in the Kingdom of Eswatini

Abstract

Granulation tissue growth over exposed bone may be facilitated by creating fenestrations on the exposed bone. We report the case of a 6-year-old girl with a large-sized scalp laceration (10 cm × 6 cm) with bone exposure (4 cm × 3 cm) due to a road traffic accident in the Kingdom of Eswatini. We treated the wound with saline-soaked gauze dressing and drilled several holes on the exposed bone to enhance secondary healing. The aim of this case report was to provide a successful application of “Drill holes” procedure or trephination of exposed calvarium for the treatment of exposed bone and large-sized scalp lacerations in resource-poor areas, where flaps or more complicated procedures are not feasible.

Keywords

• delayed wound healing
• extended scalp laceration wounds
• granulation growth
• trephination