"Scalp reduction" done on Little Girl via Inflated "Balloon"

[cuebald]

Just seen this on the news

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/6749227.stm

This girl got bad burns to the scalp and lost her hair
Docs implanted some kind of Saline filled BALLOON into her scalp - it grew very slowly over a period of months - and when the skin was stretched enough, it was removed and the skin sewn over her scalp.

That article is from 2007, this was a "follow-up" where she has gone in for a repeat for more coverage.

Anyone ever seen anything like this?

 

[Tdevil]

Yup, I've seen it before. There have been horror stories about this procedure, where the scalp looks deformed afterwards, and peoples' hair begins several inches above the ears and looks horrible. I haven't heard any good things about the procedure as an alternative to a hair transplant, but I can see in this case for the little girl it was a drastic last resort.

 

[cuebald]

Indeed, I've heard of the traditional Scalp Reduction which is generally considered an archaic treatment when compared to FUE etc. Plus, walking around with a massive balloon on your head for 6 months isn't really feasible either.
I wonder if they could do a treatment involving stretching the scalp slowly over time to get even coverage?