Subgaleal Hematoma

Excerpt

A 14-y-old boy presented to Authors emergency department (ED) with a fluctuant boggy mass over the scalp after minor traumatic brain injury. MRI studies demonstrated progressive subgaleal hematoma while no osseous lesions were seen on cranial CT scans (Figs. 1a and b). To rule out a clotting disorder in the patient both routine tests of blood coagulation, including the prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), and thrombin time (TT), fibrinogen and d-dimer concentrations, template bleeding time (Ivy method), full blood count to exclude thrombocytopenia as well as a detailed analysis of individual clotting factors (all came back as normal) were performed. Also, both the patient’s past medical history and the family history were unremarkable with regard to an underlying coagulopathy. The subgaleal hematoma was surgically removed with an uneventful post-operative course.

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