Huge scalp Morel-Lavallée lesion with eye involvement in a 3-year-old girl: a case report

BACKGROUND: Morel-Lavallée lesions are posttraumatic, closed degloving injuries in which the skin and subcutaneous tissue are separated abruptly from superficial underlying fascia. This condition leads to an effusion containing hemolymph and necrotic fat. Magnetic resonance imaging, when available, is the modality of choice in the evaluation of Morel-Lavallée lesion. Early diagnosis and management is essential as any delay in diagnosis or missed lesion will lead to the effusion becoming infected or leading to extensive skin necrosis. We present a condition of a Morel-Lavallée lesion involving the scalp and complicated by conjunctival chemosis. CASE PRESENTATION: We report on a 3-year-old black African girl who presented a fluctuant swelling of entire scalp, extending to upper part of the face on the seventh day after a forehead trauma due to falling on a rock while playing. Skull x-ray revealed soft-tissue swelling, giving an impression of large fluid collection in the deep subcutaneous tissues with no bone fracture. A diagnosis of Morel-Lavallée lesion of the scalp complicated by conjunctival chemosis was made. The patient was managed with percutaneous drainage and compression bandage. The patient improved well and was subsequently discharged without any vision impairment. There was no recurrence of the lesion on follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The Morel-Lavallée lesion of the scalp complicated with conjunctival chemosis is a rare presentation of this condition. Prompt diagnosis and management are crucial for preventing complications. Image-guided diagnosis and treatment still remain a challenge in the setting of low-resource health facilities.