Surgical Management of Pterygium Colli with Significant Skin Laxity: A Case Report

Abstract

Pterygium Colli or "palmate neck" is a congenital malformation that is most often part of a polimalformative syndrome. This deformity is a source of aesthetic and social embarrassment. Its correction is surgical. We present the case of a pterygium colli in a patient with Noonan syndrome. He had a significant excess of skin with posterior skin laxity, causing significant social discomfort and imposing a vicious attitude, the head bent forward. We performed a posterolateral resection of this excess by resecting two posterior triangular flaps with a resulting t-shaped scar. The results were satisfactory; the excess skin was almost completely resorbed with minimal scarring. However, this technique did not correct the low lateral hairline implantation, and there were still two lateral flaps for which the patient did not wish to have a repeat surgery.