| The cause of Romberg's
hemifacial atrophy is unknown. It is a self limiting disorder
associated with collagen vascular diseases such as Sjogren's and
Scleroderma. The cause is thought to be autoimmune, however other
etiologies cannot be ruled out. It produces a characteristic loss in
the soft tissues below the skin, usually on one side of the face. The
classic description is that of the "coup de sabre" deformity
or what looks like a sabre cut across the center of the face. All of
which is indicative of the underlying soft tissue loss. In some severe
cases, the underlying bone is also effected.
Our policy is to treat this disorder
with a microvacular free flap that restores lost soft tissue bulk once
the disease has burned itself out and has stopped progressing. The
micorvascular tissue for transfer is usually taken from the back, in
the region of the shoulder blade (scapula). This tissue can be
contoured to fit almost any defect. Our team has world's experts in
microvacular free tissue transfers to help with this repair. The
transfer is performed in a single stage through a cosmetically
acceptable face lift incision. Then, over the next years a few small
touch up surgeries are performed to attempt to tailor the shape of the
graft to each pateint's |
