Scalp injury management by a maxillofacial surgeon in a low-resource hospital

Abstract

Abstract Background Head or scalp injury is a life-threatening and typically accidental human injury. Most medical departments require immediate medical treatment and proper treatment with specialized medical personnel and facilities. However, in low-resource environments, such as the rural region of West Africa, the authors have treated emergency trauma patients and provided immediate treatment despite lack of resources. Case presentation We reviewed three cases of scalp injury patients, with representative clinical information, and used these cases to outline feedback on scalp trauma treatment based on the specialty knowledge of general and emergency surgeon. Conclusions Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are medical specialists that can immediately diagnose and treat these scalp injuries based on their medical knowledge and experience with the maxillofacial region.

Keywords

• Head and scalp injury
• Accident and emergency unit
• Low-resource hospital
• Scalp layer
• Scalp advancement flap