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CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2018; 45(03): 271-274
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2017.00969
Case Report

Use of the facial dismasking flap approach for surgical treatment of a multifocal craniofacial abscess

Yoshitaka Ishii
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Shinmatsudo Central General Hospital, Matsudo, Japan
,
Tomoyuki Yano
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Cancer Institute Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
,
Osamu Ito
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Yokohama City Minato Red Cross Hospital, Yokohama, Japan
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The decision of which surgical approach to use for the treatment of a multifocal craniofacial abscess is still a controversial matter. A failure to control disease progress in the craniofacial region can potentially put the patient’s life at risk. Therefore, understanding the various ways to approach the craniofacial region helps surgeons to obtain satisfactory results in such cases. In this report, we describe a patient who visited the emergency department with a large swelling in his right cheek. A blood test and computed tomography revealed odontogenic maxillary sinusitis. The patient developed sepsis due to a progressive multifocal abscess. An abscess was seen in the temporal muscle, infratemporal fossa, and interorbital region. To control this multifocal abscess, we used the facial dismasking flap (FDF) approach. After debridement using the FDF approach, we succeeded in obtaining sufficient drainage of the abscess, and the patient recovered from sepsis. The advantages of the FDF approach are that it provides a wide surgical field, extending from the parietal region to the mid-facial region, and that it leaves no aesthetically displeasing scars on the face. The FDF approach may be one of the best options to approach multifocal abscesses in the craniofacial region.

Keywords

Face - Orbit - Abscess - Facial bones


Publication History

Received: 31 March 2017

Accepted: 19 September 2017

Article published online:
03 April 2022

© 2018. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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