Management of the Morel-Lavallée Lesion

Endoscopic treatment of Morel-Lavallee lesion

Morel-Lavallee lesion is a closed degloving soft tissue injury in which subcutaneous tissue is torn from the underlying muscular fascia. The tear leads to venolymphatic leak, and concomitant adipose tissue necrosis from the force of the trauma causes swelling and possible infection at the site of injury. The traditional treatment for the lesion is surgical drainage and debridement. In this report, an endoscopic method is described, which achieves the goal of an open surgical debridement but minimizes surgical morbidity.

Large Morel-Lavallée lesion presenting as fungating mass with skin ulceration

A Morel-Lavallée lesion, a type of soft tissue degloving injury that has also been referred to as a chronic expanding hematoma, is a relatively rare condition that usually develops following traumatic injury. Here, we present a case of a 60-year-old male with a Morel-Lavallée lesion diagnosed over 5 years after a traumatic injury of the hip. He presented with a large fungating mass and overlying skin ulceration, which was highly suspicious for sarcoma. However, lack of other systemic findings and constitutional complaints, as well as negative imaging studies, did not support a diagnosis of malignancy. This information, combined with the history of remote trauma to the affected area, instead led us to suspect the alternative diagnosis of a Morel-Lavallée lesion. The diagnosis was later confirmed by pathology showing a chronic expanding hematoma. To our knowledge, a Morel-Lavallée lesion presenting as a fungating mass has not been previously described.