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Child's Nervous System
Published in: Child's Nervous System 9/2006

01-09-2006 | Case-based Update

Aplasia cutis congenita of the scalp: is there a better treatment strategy?

Authors: Ricardo Santos de Oliveira, Carlos Eduardo Barros Jucá, Antônio Lopes Lins-Neto, Maria Aparecida do Carmo Rego, Jaime Farina, Helio Rubens Machado

Published in: Child's Nervous System | Issue 9/2006

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Abstract

Background

Aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) is a rare disease of unknown etiology, involving any site of the body. The scalp is the most frequent location, followed by the forearms, knees, both sides of the trunk, and neck, in decreasing order of frequency. Superficial lesions may heal spontaneously and seldom result in morbidity or mortality. However, in patients with large scalp and skull defects, there are risks of infection and bleeding. Conservative treatment has been described and advocated, but some authors have highlighted the disadvantages of this treatment modality. On the other hand, several authors claim that aggressive surgical treatment has an important role for large defects.

Materials and methods

In this paper, we report three newborns with ACC of the scalp, two large defects and a medium one, respectively, treated conservatively and surgically.

Conclusion

The management of ACC of the scalp is still controversial. Our series suggests that conservative treatment should be performed for initial management in newborns.
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Metadata
Title
Aplasia cutis congenita of the scalp: is there a better treatment strategy?
Authors
Ricardo Santos de Oliveira
Carlos Eduardo Barros Jucá
Antônio Lopes Lins-Neto
Maria Aparecida do Carmo Rego
Jaime Farina
Helio Rubens Machado
Publication date
01-09-2006
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Child's Nervous System / Issue 9/2006
Print ISSN: 0256-7040
Electronic ISSN: 1433-0350
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-006-0074-y

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