MMHRC doctors replant woman’s scalp ripped off in accident

In a sevenhourlong emergency plastic surgery, doctors at Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre here have replanted a 30yearold woman’s scalp which was ripped off, exposing the entire skull, the forehead and twothirds of the left ear, in an accident at a manufacturing unit.

Addressing the press on Tuesday, the doctors said the key challenge was in identifying the damaged micro arteries and veins – as thin as hair strands – in the scalp and joining them to restore blood supply.

The doctors said they had to perform the same procedure, known as microvascular anastomosis, one more time, a few hours after the surgery, as the blood supply was less than optimal in a part of the replanted scalp. If the operation had not been done on time, the patient would have had to live the rest of her life with permanent disfigurement and mutilating injuries, they said.

They said two weeks after the surgery, the patient recovered well and there were signs of hair growth. She got discharged and was back to her routine life.

Binita Jena, Senior Consultant and Head of the Department of Plastic Surgery, said, “The patient from Vandiyur in Madurai was working in a manufacturing unit that produced nuts and bolts. One day, when she was at work on the shop floor, her hair was caught in a rotating machine accidentally, following which her scalp was torn off from the head. The avulsion of the scalp was so complete that it exposed her entire skull, forehead and two thirds of her left ear. The patient was brought to the hospital only after six hours, past the golden hour.”

Dr. Jena said the second surgery was required due to congestion in the replanted scalp. “The patient recovered well and was discharged after two weeks. There were signs of hair growth by the time. She requires regular followups.”