Affiliation:
1. Section of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Montreal Hospital Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Abstract
Lipoatrophy could be a manifestation of a metabolic disorder, pharmacological therapy, or as the result of an immune reaction in adipose tissue. Localized lipoatrophy after a dental intervention is a finding rarely described in scientific literature of head and neck pathology. A 56-year-old woman reported experiencing tissue loss on the right cheek. A maxillary bone graft for the purpose of dental implants had been performed 10 months prior to the first signs. Medical imaging showed no signs of any lytic bone lesions. A fat graft harvested from the abdomen was used to fill the deficit. For a clinician, lipoatrophy even if extremely rare should be considered among the inflammatory complications after a dento-alveolar bone graft. Especially because of its rarity, any coincidental systemic disorder should be excluded during the assessment of the condition.