A 17-year-old girl was agonisingly scalped alive during a go-karting session to celebrate her boyfriend’s birthday.
Medics say 80 per cent of victim Heloisa Cristina Heliodoro’s scalp was ripped away when her waist-length hair became entangled in the kart’s engine.
In a second blow, it took so long to get her to the right hospital that surgeons are now unable to sew it back.
Pictures of Heloisa released by her family in Panoa, Brazil show her on a hospital bed in a surgical gown with her head swathed in bloody bandages.
Her mother Elizabeth Maria Ribeiro told how her daughter had to wait more than 30 minutes for paramedics and firefighters to get to the track on 10th December.
And although racers had been given safety clothing and crash helmets, nobody had warned Heloisa about the risks of long hair.
Elizabeth said: “Her hair was pulled by the kart engine, and she suffered a scalping, lost 80 per cent of her scalp and, today, needs medical support. She is hospitalised.”
Elizabeth added: “She was rescued by people who were participating in the race.
“The help itself took a long time. She was bleeding for about 30 minutes.”
Heloisa was finally taken to Hospital de Base but was apparently left for a day before she was transferred to Asa Norte Regional Hospital (Hran).
Her mum explained that the delays in getting her to the right care meant that her scalp’s tissue was too degraded to be sewn back successfully.
Elizabeth said: “We wanted to warn people. It wasn’t just hair loss, physical. There was damage.
“The hospital treated us, but left her for a long time without transferring her to another, and she lost the tissue that could be used.
“She missed the opportunity to have surgery and implant it back again. There are many things. She’s only 17.”
Now, says Elizabeth, Heloisa is awaiting skin graft surgery.
She said: “Heloisa is feeling bad, as she needs a vacuum dressing and we have been waiting since Monday.
“After that, she will undergo a long treatment for health and aesthetics. She needs psychological support.”
Brasilia Kart, who operate the track, told local media that Heloisa was given safety gear and that the company is providing “full support to the family”.
It is unknown if police are investigating the case.
