Neonatal soft tissue injuries

Soft tissue injuries of the scalp in infants are mostly caused by shearing forces during vacuum or forceps delivery.

• Head molding
  • Transient deformation of the head into an elongated shape due to external compression of the fetal head as it passes through the birth canal during labor
  • Typically resolves within a few days after the birth
• Caput succedaneum: benign edema of the scalp tissue that extends across the cranial suture lines
• Cephalohematoma: subperiosteal hematoma that is limited to cranial suture lines
  • Complications: calcification of the hematoma, secondary infection
  • No treatment required; resolves within several weeks or months
• Subgaleal hemorrhage
  • Rupture of the emissary veins and bleeding between the periosteum of the skull and the aponeurosis that may extend across the suture lines
  • Associated with a high risk of significant hemorrhage and hemorrhagic shock