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Massive subcutaneous emphysema after carbon dioxide mesotherapy
Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
|January 9, 2013
Summary
A woman experienced severe abdominal pain after carboxytherapy, revealing a large subdermal gas bubble. This rare migration and coalescence of injected gas highlights a potential complication of carboxytherapy.
Area of Science:
- Medical Case Reports
- Aesthetic Medicine
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Carboxytherapy, a cosmetic procedure involving subcutaneous carbon dioxide injections, is generally considered safe.
- Potential complications, though rare, can include pain, bruising, and infection.
- Understanding the anatomical spread of injected gases is crucial for diagnosis and management.
Observation:
- A 43-year-old female presented with acute right upper quadrant abdominal pain.
- CT imaging revealed a large subdermal gas bubble extending along the flank and anterior abdominal wall.
- The patient had undergone carboxytherapy on her thighs the day prior to symptom onset.
Findings:
- The gas bubble was attributed to the migration and coalescence of carbon dioxide injected during carboxytherapy.
- Prophylactic antibiotics were administered due to patent injection tracts observed on CT.
- Complete gas resorption occurred within 10 days, but dysesthesias and muscle contracture persisted for 3 weeks.
Implications:
- This case highlights an unusual complication of carboxytherapy: extensive subdermal gas migration.
- The findings underscore the importance of considering recent cosmetic procedures in the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain.
- Further investigation into the mechanisms of gas migration and coalescence in carboxytherapy is warranted.
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