Authors: Fiona Mendes / Editor: Yasmin Sultan / Reviewer: Fiona Mendes / Codes: / Published: 18/01/2024
A 4-year-old girl fell whilst playing in the playground on a metal slide and sustained a 3cm open wound to her left cheek and upper lip.
On your review, she is clinically well and does not have any red flag features of a head injury.
The injury was witnessed by her mother, accompanying her to the Paediatric Emergency Department. There are no safeguarding concerns.
The child is frightened and does not allow a full examination of her cheek wound despite analgesia, using distraction techniques with a play specialist and topical anaesthetic. The maxillofacial registrar reviews the wound which is gaping, has stopped bleeding and requires a wound wash out and wound closure with sutures.
The maxillofacial registrar asks you if they can perform the wound irrigation and wound closure under procedural sedation in your Emergency Department (ED). Your ED has capacity to facilitate this procedure.
