31 August 2016
August 31st, 2016
Lip injuries usually look worse than they are!
Careful assessment and analysis of the injury, followed by meticulous repair techniques give good results.
While “sharp” or “clean” injuries are easy to repair, this is not so when there is an “untidy” wound of the mucosa. It is necessary to “triangulate” the defect, converting the “untidy ” injury into a tidy” one before repair.
A “burst” injury looks a lot worse than it actually is, as there is little tissue loss and meticulous repair usually gives good results.
Figure 1
17 year old girl three weeks after repair of a left upper lip dog bite injury.
This is an an excellent result and would have got better with tissue maturation over the next few months.
Figure 2
A similar injury in a 20 year old male, two years after repair, showing a poor result due to an unsatisfactory technique of repair.
Figure 3
The dog bite to the left upper lip of the patient in Figure 1.
Figure 4
The ” triangulation ” of the defect of the patient in Figure 1, prior to repair.
Figure 5
The same patient in figure 2, after “triangulation” and a three layer repair.
Figure 6
A ” burst ” injury in a 15 year old boy who cycled into the back of a bus, with minimal tissue loss but a major disruption of the anatomy of the lip.
Figure 7
The patient at six months, after a meticulous and patient”Toilet and repair “! (Note capital “T “and small case “r”, emphasising the relative importance of the two components of the repair!)
For more information please contact me at [email protected]
About The Author - Dr Chandran Arianayagam
Dr Chandran Arianayagam is an internationally trained Specialist Plastic Surgeon. Based in Coffs Harbour since January 1995, he has trained and worked in India, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, United States and Australia. He brings 30 years of experience and expertise to the Mid-North Coast region.
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