What is the Difference Between Hematoma and Morel Lavallée Lesion

The key difference between hematoma and Morel Lavallée lesion is that hematoma occurs when an injury causes blood to collect and pool under the skin, while Morel Lavallée lesion occurs when an extensive section of the skin is completely torn off the underlying tissue.

Hematoma and Morel Lavallée lesions are two types of skin injuries. Injuries to the skin can take place anywhere on the body surface and can be due to cuts, scratches, lacerations, gashes, tears, bruises, and abrasions. Moreover, medical attention is needed when there is major bleeding that cannot be stopped or deep cuts to the chest, stomach, head, and neck.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Hematoma 
3. What is Morel Lavallée Lesion
4. Similarities – Hematoma and Morel Lavallée Lesion
5. Hematoma vs Morel Lavallée Lesion in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Hematoma vs Morel Lavallée Lesion

What is Hematoma?

Hematoma is localized bleeding outside of the blood vessels, which is either due to disease or trauma such as injury or surgery. It may involve blood continuing to seep from the damaged blood capillaries. In a hematoma state, it is initially a liquid form that spreads among the tissues, including the sacs between tissues. Later, blood coagulates and solidifies before this blood is reabsorbed into blood vessels. Ecchymosis is also a type of hematoma, which is larger in size (10 mm).

The common symptoms of hematoma are pain, swelling, redness, and disfiguring bruises. Some symptoms are specific to the location of a hematoma. In subdural hematoma, headache, neurologic problems (weakness on one side, difficulty speaking, falling), confusion, and seizures are the symptoms, while in epidural hematoma, symptoms are back pain, weakness, and loss of bowel or bladder control. Furthermore, in subungual hematoma, symptoms are nail pain, nail weakness, nail loss, and disfiguring nail. In hepatic or peritoneal hematoma, the main symptoms are abdominal pain and flank pain.

Hematoma can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, complete blood count, coagulation panel, chemistry and metabolic panel, live test, CT scan, and MRI. Furthermore, treatment options for hematoma may include rest, applying ice, compressing, elevating, pain medications (acetaminophen), and surgical drainage.

What is Morel Lavallée Lesion?

A Morel Lavallée lesion occurs when an extensive section of the skin is completely torn off the underlying tissue. Morel Lavallée lesion is a closed traumatic soft tissue degloving injury. In the Morel Lavallée lesion, the separation of the hypodermis from the underlying fascia of the skin takes place. This degloving injury most frequently occurs in the peritrochanteric region along the proximal lateral thigh. Morel Lavallée lesion also severs the blood supply. Moreover, the symptoms of the Morel Lavallée lesion include pain, swelling, palpable fluctuant collection over the injured area, and hypoesthesia. It is caused due to high energy, blunt force trauma, or crush injuries.

The diagnosis methods used to detect Morel Lavallée lesions include physical examination, CT scan, MRI, and ultrasound. Furthermore, treatment options for Morel Lavallée lesions are percutaneous aspiration, elastic compression bandaging, scleroses such as doxycycline, alcohol and fibrin glue, surgical drainage, replantation or revascularization of the degloved skins, skin graft, and skin flaps.

What are the Similarities Between Hematoma and Morel Lavallée Lesion?

• Hematoma and Morel Lavallée lesions are two types of skin injuries.
• Hematoma can be present in Morel Lavallée lesion.
• Both conditions influence the blood supply.
• If both conditions are not treated properly, they lead to superinfections and necrosis.
• Both conditions can be diagnosed through imaging tests.
• They are treated by giving medications like pain medications and by surgeries.

What is the Difference Between Hematoma and Morel Lavallée Lesion?

Hematoma occurs when an injury causes blood to collect and pool under the skin, while Morel Lavallée lesion occurs when an extensive section of the skin is completely torn off the underlying tissue. Thus, this is the key difference between hematoma and Morel Lavallée lesion. Furthermore, the common symptoms of hematoma include pain, swelling, redness, and disfiguring bruises, whereas the symptoms of the Morel Lavallée lesion include pain, swelling, palpable fluctuant collection over the injured area, and hypoesthesia.

The below infographic presents the differences between hematoma and Morel Lavallée lesion in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Hematoma vs Morel Lavallée Lesion

Hematoma and Morel Lavallée lesions are two types of skin injuries. They are also clinical conditions. Often Morel Lavallée lesion is misdiagnosed as a hematoma. A hematoma is a collection of blood outside a blood vessel. It occurs when an injury causes blood to collect and pool under the skin. Morel Lavallée lesion occurs when an extensive section of the skin is completely torn off the underlying tissue. Here, skin and superficial fascia get separated from the deep fascia. So, this summarizes the difference between hematoma and Morel Lavallée lesion.

Reference:

1. “Hematoma: Overview, Types, Treatment, and Pictures.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International.
2. “Morel-Lavallée Lesions: Our Treatment Experience.” – Medcrave Online.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Hematoma development” By Whoisjohngalt – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “CT of Morel-Lavallee lesion” By Shunsuke Takahara, Keisuke Oe, Hironori Fujita, Atsushi Sakurai, Takashi Iwakura, Sang Yang Lee, Takahiro Niikura, Ryosuke Kuroda, and Masahiro Kurosaka – (2014). “Missed Massive Morel-Lavallee Lesion”: Case Reports in Orthopedics 2014: 1–4. DOI:10.1155/2014/920317. ISSN 2090-6749.(CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia