Tinea Capitis: No Incision Nor Excision
August 2007
in “
Journal of pediatric surgery
”
TLDR Surgery is not the right treatment for a fungal scalp infection; proper medical treatment is needed.
The document discussed tinea capitis, a fungal infection of the scalp primarily affecting prepubescent children, and highlighted the inappropriate surgical treatment of kerions in two children. One child had a lesion incised, and the other had a lesion excised, both under general anesthesia. These surgical interventions complicated subsequent conservative treatments. The authors recommended that surgeons and dermatologists carefully investigate abscess-like lesions on children's scalps to confirm if they are due to dermatophytic infections, ensuring appropriate conservative treatment is administered.