Question
My son is 9 months old. He suffered an accidental injury and developed a forehead subcutaneous hematoma. We went to the Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center for treatment, and the recovery is going well. However, today, when the child was crying and fussing, we noticed that something similar to pus was oozing from the surgical wound dressing on his forehead. We are unsure if this is an infection or inflammation?
Answer
Generally, smaller scalp hematomas do not require special treatment and can usually absorb on their own within 1-2 weeks. Larger hematomas often require puncture aspiration and regional compression bandaging, which can heal with one or several treatments. If puncture treatment is ineffective and the hematoma does not resolve or continues to grow, it may be necessary to incise and remove the hematoma while stopping the bleeding. For subdural hematomas associated with skull fractures, attention should be paid to the possibility of intracranial hematoma. Any hematoma that has become infected requires incision and drainage.