What is the Difference Between Hematoma and Morel Lavallée Lesion?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚A hematoma and a Morel-Lavallée lesion are both types of skin injuries, but they have distinct differences:
- Hematoma: A hematoma is a collection of blood outside a blood vessel, occurring when an injury causes blood to collect and pool under the skin. It is typically deeper, less well-defined, and less fluctuant than a Morel-Lavallée lesion.
- Morel-Lavallée Lesion: This is a closed degloving soft tissue injury, resulting from the abrupt separation of skin and subcutaneous tissue from the underlying fascia. It is characterized by a potential space filled mainly by serous fluid, and it feels superficial compared to a hematoma. Morel-Lavallée lesions can be misdiagnosed as hematomas due to their similar appearance.
Some key differences between hematomas and Morel-Lavallée lesions include:
- Cause: Hematomas are caused by blood collecting under the skin due to injury, while Morel-Lavallée lesions result from the separation of skin and subcutaneous tissue from the underlying fascia.
- Location: Hematomas are typically deeper, while Morel-Lavallée lesions occur at the interface between subcutaneous fat and deep fascia.
- Fluctuance: Morel-Lavallée lesions are characterized by significant fluctuance, while hematomas are less fluctuant.
The differential diagnosis of Morel-Lavallée lesions includes post-traumatic injuries like fat coagulopathy-related hematomas and rarely, post-traumatic early-stage myositis ossificans with diffuse signal intensity.
On this pageWhat is the Difference Between Hematoma and Morel Lavallée Lesion? Comparative Table: Hematoma vs Morel Lavallée Lesion
Comparative Table: Hematoma vs Morel Lavallée Lesion
Here is a table comparing the differences between a hematoma and a Morel Lavallée lesion:
Feature | Hematoma | Morel Lavallée Lesion |
---|---|---|
Definition | A collection of blood outside a blood vessel, occurring when an injury causes blood to collect and pool under the skin | A soft tissue degloving injury, occurring when an extensive section of the skin is completely torn off, with separation of skin and superficial fascia from the deep fascia |
Causes | Injuries due to trauma, aneurysms, anticoagulants, viral infections, and orthopedic injuries such as fractures | High-energy trauma, orthopedic fractures, and shearing forces |
Symptoms | Pain, swelling, palpable fluctuant collection over the injured area, and hypoesthesia | Pain, swelling, and possible fluid collection between the subcutaneous fat and underlying fascia |
Diagnosis | Physical examination, imaging techniques such as X-ray, ultrasound, or MRI | Ultrasound is the imaging method of choice; MRI can be useful in selected cases |
Treatment | Depends on the size, location, and underlying cause of the hematoma, and may include compression, elevation, ice packs, painkillers, or surgical intervention | Treatment options include rest, ice, compression, elevation, painkillers, and surgical intervention in severe cases |
Risk of Infection | Risk of infection is a common complication of hematomas | Risk of infection is a potential complication, although less common than in hematomas |
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