Morel-Lavallee lesion: a forgotten cause of bleeding in trauma

The Morel-Lavallee lesion is a rare soft tissue injury that occurs due to traumatic shearing force on skin surface causing separation of skin and subcutaneous tissue resulting in hematoma. This case report depicts a 22-year-old gentleman who was involved in a motor vehicle accident. He complained of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Khor, CC, Tan, Toh Leong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2017
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12700/1/23_khor_et_al_pdf_14309.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12700/
http://www.medicineandhealthukm.com/toc/12/2
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Summary:The Morel-Lavallee lesion is a rare soft tissue injury that occurs due to traumatic shearing force on skin surface causing separation of skin and subcutaneous tissue resulting in hematoma. This case report depicts a 22-year-old gentleman who was involved in a motor vehicle accident. He complained of pain and swelling over lower back. He was treated for soft tissue injury and admitted for pain control. One day post-trauma, he complained of increased swelling over the back. His hemoglobin dropped from 12.2g/dL to 10.7g/dL. Diagnosis of Morel-Lavallae lesion was made. Initially no surgical intervention was planned. However, in view of worsening of swelling, bedside aspiration was performed and subsequently a pigtail catheter was inserted to drain the hematoma. In total, 2.05 litre of liquefied hematoma was drained. Thus, Morel-Lavallee lesion is an uncommon soft tissue injury that can cause significant bleeding following trauma.