Scalp laceration repair with hair apposition technique in the maritime environment under telemedicine guidance using free open-access medical resources.

Abstract

Requests for medical advice to evaluate injuries sustained on board a shipping vessel make up a significant number of calls to Telemedical Maritime Assistance Services. As the maritime setting is an austere environment with regards to resources such as equipment and availability of medically trained personnel, it is important to have a set of skills and techniques to treat all manner of common injuries with the tools at hand. Here we discuss a case report of using telemedicine and free open-access medical education resources to teach the hair apposition technique to an on-board medical provider for the treatment of a scalp laceration with good outcome.