Arch Plast Surg.  2017 May;44(3):234-237. 10.5999/aps.2017.44.3.234.

Acellular Dermal Matrices and Paraffinoma: A Modern Tool for a Nearly Obsolete Disease

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Marche Polytechnic Medical School, Ancona, Italy. torresetti.matteo@gmail.com
  • 2Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unit, Villa Salaria Clinic, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Paraffinoma is a destructive complication of paraffin oil injection, usually associated with massive tissue destruction, thus requiring radical surgery and subsequent complex reconstruction. Although breast and penile paraffinomas have been widely described and their management is quite standardized, paraffinomas of the knee are still rare and only few case reports or small case series are available in the current literature. We describe the case of a 77-year-old man with a large paraffinoma of the right knee that occurred after self-injection of paraffin oil, 58 years before. He underwent wide surgical resection of the soft tissues overlying the knee and subsequent two-stage reconstruction by using acellular dermal matrix and, after 20 days, split-thickness skin grafts. Follow-up after 16 months showed no signs of skin ulcerations or inflammation, with an overall improvement in function. Even though conventional flap reconstructions may be still useful, the authors believe that acellular dermal matrices represent a safe, reliable, and less invasive alternative for challenging soft tissue reconstructions even in elderly patients with multiple medical problems.

Keyword

Paraffinoma; Knee; Acellular dermal

MeSH Terms

Acellular Dermis*
Aged
Breast
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Inflammation
Knee
Paraffin
Skin
Skin Ulcer
Transplants
Paraffin
Full Text Links
  • APS
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr