Forehead soft tissue trauma: Concealed by the art of plastic surgery

Abstract

A 22 year old lady, who is a stage performer presented with a history of trauma to the forehead following a road traffic accident (Figure 1). The post traumatic image of her face was heartbreaking for her. Patient was taken for Plastic surgery procedure under general anaesthesia. Procedure was started using the principles of microdebridement, tissue undermining, tissue stretching and relaxation, extending the incision beyond the trauma along the Langer’s lines, layered suturing and preserving the anatomical landmarks like hairline and position of eyebrows. A trapezoid-shaped defect of size 10 cm transversely and 5 cm vertically was there after debridement (Figure 2). We could close the defect primarily without the need for skin grafting or did not leave residual raw areas for secondary healing. Finally, with patience after around 2.5 hours, we could achieve a result like this following the surgery (Figure 3). Close follow up and scar reduction measures like massage, creams and direct sunlight prevention for 1 year delivered us a good result.