Plan to India for Scalp Avulsion with Trusted Specialists

Scalp avulsion treatment in India

Scalp avulsion treatment is regarded as a surgical emergency, as this technique implies partial or total tearing of the scalp that may result in the loss of a lot of blood and infection unless the surgery is performed immediately. Here’s a detailed overview:

Immediate First Aid

Control Bleeding

• Use direct pressure using sterile gauze or clean cloth.
• Elevate the head if possible.

Re-tie Avulsed Tissue (when torn off)

• Wash with sterile saline to wash off dirt.
• Cover the tissue with a wet sterile cloth.
• Put it in a closed plastic bag and freeze it on ice (do not come into direct contact with the ice).

Prevent Shock

• Keep the patients lying down.
• Monitor vital signs.

Hospital Management

Assessment

• Assess extent of scalp avulsion, scalp viability and related injuries (skull fractures, injuries to the face).
• Determine the blood loss and vital signs.

Wound Cleaning

• Vitality of tissue: Comprehensive debridement.
• Sterile saline irrigation to eliminate contaminants.

Reattachment/ Reconstruction

Depends on tissue condition:

Primary Replantation

• Scalp reattachment by micro-surgery.
• Success factors: Clean tissue, short ischemia time, skilled microsurgeon.

Partial Scalp Loss

• Skin grafts or local coverage of the flaps can be needed.

Delayed Reconstruction

• Unless it is possible to reattach immediately, temporary wound cover with dressings and delayed grafting.

Best hospitals for scalp avulsion in India

• Artemis Hospital, Gurgaon
• Medanta-The Medicity, Gurgaon
• Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon
• Max Hospital, Saket

Factors Affecting Scalp avulsion surgery cost in India

Scalp avulsion treatment in India is very expensive depending on a number of factors which include the severity of the injury, the type of surgical procedure needed, the place and reputation of the health facility and the skills of the involved medical teams. The major variables that affect the cost are as follows:

The Intensity and the Size of the injury

• Partial Scalp Avulsion: Cases that are less complicated can include local flap or skin grafting, which are less costly.
• Complete Scalp Avulsion: More complicated cases might demand the usage of microsurgical replantation, which is more costly.

The Nature of Surgical Intervention

• Microsurgical Replantation: This entails the repositioning of the pulled off scalp tissue and this involves specialized equipment and skills.
• Skin Grafting or Flap Surgery: Other forms of covering the open portion, where the cost of doing it will differ depending on the complexity.

Healthcare Facility

• Private Hospitals: They were more likely to be more expensive because of high-tech facilities and specialized care.

Location

• Metro Cities (e.g., Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru): It is more expensive because of a higher level of demand and high operation costs.
• Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities: These are not as expensive, but there might not be special care available.

Surgeon's Expertise

• Surgeons with high-level experiences can be more expensive in their services, yet their experience can result in a higher success rate and possibly a reduction on their long-term costs as they have lesser complications.

Additional Costs

• Pre-operational Tests: Blood tests, radiographies and other diagnostic tests.
• After-surgical Treatment: Drugs, check-ups, and possible rehabilitation.
• Reconstructive Procedures: The additional procedures of cosmetic or functional repair.

Reconstructive surgery for scalp avulsion in India

Scalp avulsion reconstruction is aimed at the reconstruction of the skin, soft tissue, and hair-bearing surface of the scalp in cases of the severe traumatic loss occurred as a result of accidents, machinery injury, or animal bite. Due to the limited scale flexibility and high vascularity, timely surgical intervention is important to save tissue and maximise aesthetic and functional recovery.

Goals of Reconstruction

• Replenish proper soft-tissue skull coverage.
• Maintain or repair hairy head.
• Sensation and head shape should be kept as much as possible.
• Avert disease and tissue necrosis.

There are several kinds of Reconstructive Techniques:

Primary Closure

• Applied: The defect is minor and the edges of the scalp can be estimated without tension.
• Procedure: Edge of the wound is sutured directly with good debridement.
• Benefit: Easy, quick and maintains natural scalp tissue.

Skin Grafting

• Indications: The wound does not have enough tissue to cover it, yet the wound bed is healthy.
• Procedure: Split- or full-thickness skin graft (usually thigh) is used to cover the defect.
• Canine: No scalp hair growing over grafted region.

Local Flap Reconstruction

• Indications: There is moderate tissue loss.

Techniques include:

• Rotation flap: A flap of semicircular shape that is turned into the defect.
• Advancement flap: Tissue is rolled forward to seal the defect.
• Transposition flap: The tissue transferred to a different part of an intact tissue.
• Benefit: Has got hairy skin, good color and feel alike.

Regional or Distant Flaps

• Applied where: Large defects are too far to be covered by local flaps.
• Example: Temporoparietal fascia flap, trapezius flap, or latissimus dorsi flap.
• May need: Blood supply through microvascular anastomosis.

Free Flap Reconstruction (Free Tissue Transfer)

• Indications: Large or total aviation of the scalp where local tissue is inadequate.
• General flaps: Latissimus dorsi, radial forearm, anterolateral thigh flap.
• Procedure: Tissue along with its blood vessels is transplanted to the scalp and re-attached in a microscopic manner to local vessels.
• Advantage: The coverage is long-lasting; in certain cases, hair-bearing can be restored using secondary transplant.

Scalp injury treatment specialists in India

Dr. Aditya Gupta

Dr Aditya Gupta is an esteemed, highly accomplished and best neurosurgeon in Gurgaon, serving as the Chairperson of Neurosurgery, CNS Radiosurgery and Co-Chief of the CyberKnife Centre at Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon. Dr Gupta has successfully performed over 10,000 brain tumour surgeries and more than 6,000 radiosurgery procedures (one of the few to have a very extensive experience with almost all radiosurgery technologies such as Gamma Knife, Cyberknife and LINAC).

Dr. Sudhir Dubey

Dr. Sudhir Dubey is a leading Neuro doctor in Gurgaon and is presently serving as the Director of the Institute of Neurosciences at Medanta. Dr. Dubey has performed over 10,000 neurosurgical operations, solidifying his reputation as one of the foremost experts in the field.

His expertise extends across a wide range of neurosurgical procedures, with a particular focus on pituitary surgery and minimally invasive techniques for brain, skull base, and spine surgeries. . A pioneer in endoscopic and minimally invasive surgery, Dr. Dubey has been at the forefront of advancing neurosurgical techniques, making complex brain and spine surgeries less invasive and more effective.

Dr. Sandeep Vaishya

Sandeep Vaishya is a renowned Neurosurgeon in India with more than 22 years of experience in the field having worked with some of the top institutions and hospitals of India. He is one of the foremost surgeons in the world for brachial plexus Injuries and in South Asia for Gamma Knife Surgery. Dr Sandeep Vaishya is considered as one of the finest brain and spine surgeons in India. His specializations are Intracranial Brain Tumour Surgery, Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery, Minimally Invasive brain and spine surgery and Image-Guided Neurosurgery, Brachial Plexus Surgery and Spine Surgery in India.

Dr. Bipin Walia

Dr. Bipin Walia is a senior neurosurgeon and Director & Head of Neurosurgery, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, New Delhi. With a medical career spanning over 38 years and having done over 7,000 spine surgeries, he is one of India's most renowned spine and brain surgeons. His areas of special interest are Complex spine surgeries, Brain tumor surgeries, minimally invasive and image-guided neurosurgery, and Disc replacement and motion preservation.

Scalp reattachment surgery in India

Scalp reattachment surgery (also microsurgical scalp replantation) is a complicated form of reconstruction surgery, conducted following a total or partial scalp amputation, in which the scalp is ripped off by trauma. It is aimed at reattaching the avulsed scalp and getting blood flow back with the help of microsurgical procedures, which will guarantee survival of the tissue and retention of the natural skin on the patient with hair.

Purpose of Scalp Reattachment Surgery 

• Recover the deal look and hairy surface.
• Guard the skull and tissues beneath it.
• Maintain feeling and shape of head.
• Prevent the cases of deformities and mental discomfort due to loss of hair and scarring.

Favourable Reattachment Conditions

Scalp plantation can be done when:

• A rapid response (preferably within 68 hours) has to retrieve the avulsed scalp and store it in the proper conditions (cool in sterile condition).
• There is no severe crush or contamination due to which the avulsion plane is clean.
• Large vessels of the blood (typically the superficial temporal or occipital arteries and veins) can be recognised and repaired at the microvascular level.

Surgical Procedure

Step 1: Initial Assessment

• Assess size of head loss and contamination.
• Stabilize patient when injured about the head or the face.
• Store avulsed segment of the scalp in moist cool space (saline gauze in sterile bag on ice), but not on ice.

Step 2: Wound Preparation

• Scalp/wound bed Debridement of non-viable tissue.
• Find and fill in vessels and nerves to anastomosis.

Step 3- Microsurgical Reattachment.

• The surgeons rejoin arteries and veins using microvascular sutures (9-0 or 10-0 nylon) under the aid of an operating microscope.
• 2-4 arteriovenous anastasmoses are conducted to each side.
• After making sure that blood is flowing, the edges of the skin are sutured.
• In some cases nerve repair (supratrochlear, supraorbital) may be performed in order to restore sensation.

Step 4: Postoperative Care

• Close observation of the scalp is done in terms of color, temperature and capillary refill (to check blood flow).
• The use of anticoagulants (heparin) and antibiotics is used.
• Temporary Leech therapy can be applied in case of venous congestion.
• Elevated head and lack of movement minimise swelling.

Recovery

• Hospitalization: 7-10 days on observation of vascular patency.
• Full healing: 4-6 weeks, this is subject to blood circulation and healing of the wounds.
• Hair growth: It usually starts growing again after a few months in case the follicular units are still alive.
• Secondary procedures: Patchy growths can be handled with minor scar repair or hair transplantation.

Scalp avulsion treatment in India with GetWellGo

GetWellGo is regarded as a leading supplier of healthcare services. We help our foreign clients choose the best treatment locations that suit their needs both financially and medically.

We offer:

• Complete transparency
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• Assistance in selecting India's top hospitals for Scalp avulsion treatment.
• Expert neurosurgeon with a strong track record of success
• Assistance during and after the course of treatment.
• Language Support
• Travel and Accommodation Services
• Case manager assigned to every patient to provide seamless support in and out of the hospital like appointment booking
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