Facial cutaneous lesions of dental origin: A case series emphasizing the awareness of the entity and its medico-legal consequences

Mohammad M Al-Qattan,Muhammed I Almotairi

doi:10.1016/j.ijscr.2018.10.032

Abstract

IntroductionFacial cutaneous lesions of dental origin are rare and hence the correct diagnosis is usually missed on the initial presentation to the surgeon. We present the largest series in the surgical literature to increase the awareness to this entity and emphasize that the wrong diagnosis may lead to medico-legal claims. Patients and methodsThis is a retrospective study of 28 patients seen between 1994 and 2017. ResultsThe series had one child and 27 adults. The presentation varied and included: a nodule, a subcutaneous soft mass, a sinus, an abscess, a cyst, a pigmented skin lesion and a scar. Thirteen cases had an initial wrong diagnosis and of these 4 had surgery to the lesion. Two out of the 4 surgically treated lesions ended with medico-legal claims. ConclusionsThe surgeon should be aware of this rare entity and have a high index of suspicion. Dental treatment is curative and there is no need to operate the facial lesion. The wrong diagnosis and unnecessary surgery may lead to medico-legal claims.

Highlights

Facial cutaneous lesions of dental origin are rare and the correct diagnosis is usually missed on the initial presentation to the surgeon
Facial cutaneous lesions of dental origin are formed because of underlying dental root infection and subsequent sinus formation towards the face [1]. They are rare and the correct diagnosis is usually missed on the initial presentation to the surgeon [1]
The aims of the current report are: to present the largest series in the surgical literature of facial cutaneous lesions of dental origin, increase the awareness of plastic surgeons to this rare entity, and document that the initial wrong diagnosis/treatment may lead to medico-legal consequences

Summary

Introduction

Facial cutaneous lesions of dental origin are rare and the correct diagnosis is usually missed on the initial presentation to the surgeon. We present the largest series in the surgical literature to increase the awareness to this entity and emphasize that the wrong diagnosis may lead to medico-legal claims. Facial cutaneous lesions of dental origin are formed because of underlying dental root infection and subsequent sinus formation towards the face [1] They are rare and the correct diagnosis is usually missed on the initial presentation to the surgeon [1]. The aims of the current report are: to present the largest series in the surgical literature of facial cutaneous lesions of dental origin, increase the awareness of plastic surgeons to this rare entity, and document that the initial wrong diagnosis/treatment may lead to medico-legal consequences. The case series is compliant with the PROCESS guidelines [6]

Objectives

Results

Conclusion