A team of surgeons led by prof. Adam Maciejewski performed a very extensive scalp replantation procedure on a 39-year-old patient who suffered scalp and neck scalp as a result of screwing her hair into a folder-gluer machine.
- The six-hour operation took place on February 24 at the National Institute of Oncology in Gliwice. The patient was awakened after two days
- The treatment was very extensive. The torn off scalp covered the entire scalp and the skin of the forehead, including the eyebrows, upper eyelids, part of the skin of the nose up to the ear line, and at the back of the head up to the neck line, the doctors explain
- The doctors who conducted the operation praised the ambulance team, which properly secured the torn scalp (placed it in ice) and efficiently and safely transported it with the patient to Gliwice.
- It was the third third procedure of this type carried out in Gliwice. As doctors admit – this time they were dealing with the most extensive fragment of the skin
- You can find more up-to-date information on the TvoiLokony home page
The woman is a resident of the Łódź Province. After an accident in a cardboard manufacturing plant, she was first taken to the County Hospital in Radomsko, where her scalp was dressed and secured. From there, she was transported by ambulance to the National Institute of Oncology in Gliwice. She went straight to the operating room, under the care of doctors from the Clinic of Oncological and Reconstructive Surgery headed by prof. Adam Maciejewski.
– Before being anesthetized, she was conscious and aware of where she was. We didn’t ask her what happened, realizing how traumatic it was for her. She was in touch with us all the time – says prof. Łukasz Krakowczyk, who operated on the patient together with prof. Adam Maciejewski.
A torn off scalp on a 39-year-old girl
The treatment was very extensive. The torn off scalp covered the entire scalp and the skin of the forehead, including the eyebrows, upper eyelids, part of the skin of the nose up to the ear line, and the back of the head up to the nape of the neck. Surgeons first had to find arterial and venous vessels in it in order to fuse them with the vessels of the head. They used a microscope to search. – This is the most difficult stage. Without finding these vessels, the scalp replantation procedure has no chance of success – emphasizes Prof. Łukasz Krakowczyk.
Fortunately, prof. Adam Maciejewski and prof. Łukasz Krakowczyk managed to find two arteries and two veins, which – as they unanimously emphasize – was a great merit of the County Hospital in Radomsko, where the patient underwent basic examinations excluding, among others, trauma to the spine and brain, and at the same time contacting the National Institute of Oncology in Gliwice immediately. In their opinion, the ambulance team deserves praise as well, which properly secured the broken scalp (placed it in ice) and efficiently and safely transported it with the patient to Gliwice.
– In the case of scalp replantation procedures, the key factor is the time from the moment of the injury to the restoration of blood supply – explains Prof. Adam Maciejewski.
In the operating block of the National Institute of Oncology, two teams of doctors were waiting for the 39-year-old. Professors Adam Maciejewski and Łukasz Krakowczyk took care of the patient’s head and looked for vessels on it to connect them with the scalp vessels, while the other team of doctors took a fragment of a vein from her forearm, necessary to perform the so-called a venous insert that connects the vessels of the head and scalp.
– On the left side, we made an arterial anastomosis and put blood into the scalp, and then we connected the vein. We achieved half the battle in this way, restoring circulation to the scalp. The next step was to connect the vein, artery and temporal vessels on the other side. At the end, we only have to adjust the skin with appropriate layers in the area of the nose, eyelids, temples, occiput and neck, and sewing – says the procedure step by step by Prof. Łukasz Krakowczyk.
Special microsurgical instruments had to be used to fix the blood vessels, which are about 1-1,5 mm in diameter. Using them requires enormous knowledge and experience that doctors from Gliwice gain every day by performing reconstructive surgeries in oncological patients.
- «I am alive, but what is this life?». After the face transplant, Mr. Grzegorz experienced a lot of suffering
Doctors sewed on the scalp
The surgery was performed on February 24 and lasted about 6 hours. The patient was only awake after two days, during which time she was kept under sedation, which helped her survive the greatest crisis. He is constantly under the care of a psychologist.
– The patient is now well and will return home in the coming days. Scalp is “alive” and heals nicely. There are no doubtful places on it – says Prof. Adam Maciejewski.
In the opinion of doctors, postoperative scars in this patient will not be very visible in the future.
It was the third scalp sewing procedure performed by surgeons of the Department of Oncological and Reconstructive Surgery of the National Institute of Oncology in Gliwice. The two previous ones, however, were not that extensive. As emphasized by specialists from Gliwice, the 39-year-old woman was very lucky to be so efficiently transferred to a center with extensive experience in microsurgical procedures.
Read also:
- These operations cost a fortune. Even 400 zloty
- He lost his eyelids, ears and fingers in the accident. His hands and face were transplanted
- Dr. Zembala: we broke the Polish record in the number of heart transplants
The content of the medTvoiLokony website is intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and their doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website. Do you need a medical consultation or an e-prescription? Go to halodoctor.pl, where you will get online help – quickly, safely and without leaving your home.Now you can use e-consultation also free of charge under the National Health Fund.