Child scratches his head

Children's nature is to love playing, and they lack self-protection ability, so they will get bumped if they are not careful. Sometimes children bump their heads and bleed, and they need to go to the hospital for treatment in time. If it is a minor injury, parents do not need to worry too much. If a serious bump causes a scar on the forehead, you can only wait until the child grows up and go to a plastic surgery hospital for cosmetic treatment.

If a person falls and scratches his head or face, leaving a big cut that he cannot heal by himself, the first thing that comes to mind is to go to the hospital for emergency treatment of the wound. Especially when a child's head or face is injured, parents may feel distressed and worry that the wound will need to be sutured and leave scars. What can they do?

A while ago, a child was playing outside and got a big cut on his forehead by the corner of a window. The parents first took the child to the emergency room of Beijing Children's Hospital. The doctor suggested that they go directly to the Plastic Surgery Hospital for sutures to avoid leaving obvious scars. The parents were a little confused. Did the cut on their child’s forehead need to be sutured at a plastic surgery hospital? In the past, she would never have connected the child's injury with plastic surgery...

I believe many parents have had the anxious experience of their children accidentally hitting their heads or faces late at night, but not knowing where to go for emergency treatment. In fact, if a child hits his head and it is only a skin injury, he can go to the emergency room of a plastic surgery hospital to treat the wound.

What is the difference between a plastic surgery emergency and a general surgery emergency?

The two have different focuses. General surgery sutures wounds mainly to solve functional problems, while plastic surgery emergency has high requirements for the shape of the wound after suture. The needles and threads used are much finer than those used in general surgery, and the appearance of scars will be prevented as much as possible during the suturing process.

Under what circumstances can I go directly to the emergency department of a plastic surgery hospital if I am injured?

For any trauma, the first thing to consider is whether the internal organs in the cranial cavity, thoracic cavity, and abdominal cavity are damaged, because damage to the internal organs in these places may be life-threatening. Only when the vital signs are stable should we consider suturing and beautifying the appearance of the wound. Most of the patients who come to the plastic surgery hospital for emergency treatment have minor wounds on their head and face that are not life-threatening at all and have high requirements for wound healing.

However, it should be noted that if you have facial injuries, especially those around the eyes, you must first go to the ophthalmology department of a general hospital to check whether there are any functional disorders of the eyes. If there are no problems after investigation, then go to a plastic surgery hospital to clean and suture the wound.

Under what circumstances is it not appropriate to suture an injured wound immediately?

Generally speaking, suturing is more effective within 24 hours because the infection and swelling of the wound are relatively low at this time, and the wound will heal better after suturing. However, dog bites are rather special. Patients should first go to the nearest CDC to consult for advice on wound treatment, ask whether the wound can be sutured, how long it will take to suture, and other questions before considering whether to go to a plastic surgery hospital for wound treatment.