Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area may feel heavy, and joint stiffness. Other symptoms depend on the underlying cause.
An ulcer is a sore on the skin or a mucous membrane, accompanied by the disintegration of tissue. Ulcers can result in complete loss of the epidermis and often portions of the dermis and even subcutaneous fat. Ulcers are most common on the skin of the lower extremities and in the gastrointestinal tract. An ulcer that appears on the skin is often visible as an inflamed tissue with an area of reddened skin. A skin ulcer is often visible in the event of exposure to heat or cold, irritation, or a problem with blood circulation.
A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur close enough to the epidermis such that the bleeding causes a visible discoloration. The bruise then remains visible until the blood is either absorbed by tissues or cleared by immune system action. Bruises which do not blanch under pressure can involve capillaries at the level of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle, or bone.
Anasarca is a severe and generalized form of edema, with subcutaneous tissue swelling throughout the body. Unlike typical edema, which almost everyone will experience at some time and can be relatively benign, anasarca is a pathological process reflecting a severe disease state and can involve the cavities of the body in addition to the tissues.
An eyelid is a thin fold of skin that covers and protects an eye. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle retracts the eyelid, exposing the cornea to the outside, giving vision. This can be either voluntarily or involuntarily. "Palpebral" means relating to the eyelids. Its key function is to regularly spread the tears and other secretions on the eye surface to keep it moist, since the cornea must be continuously moist. They keep the eyes from drying out when asleep. Moreover, the blink reflex protects the eye from foreign bodies. A set of specialized hairs known as lashes grow from the upper and lower eyelid margins to further protect the eye from dust and debris.
A chalazion or meibomian cyst is a cyst in the eyelid usually due to a blocked meibomian gland, typically in the middle of the eyelid, red, and not painful. They tend to come on gradually over a few weeks.
Periorbital dark circles are dark blemishes around the eyes. There are many causes of this symptom, including heredity and bruising.
Chemosis is the swelling of the conjunctiva. The term derives from the Greek words cheme and -osis, cheme meaning cockleshell due to the swollen conjunctiva resembling it, and -osis meaning condition. The swelling is due to the oozing of exudate from abnormally permeable capillaries. In general, chemosis is a nonspecific sign of eye irritation. The outer surface covering appears to have fluid in it. The conjunctiva becomes swollen and gelatinous in appearance. Often, the eye area swells so much that the eyes become difficult or impossible to close fully. Sometimes, it may also appear as if the eyeball has moved slightly backwards from the white part of the eye due to the fluid filled in the conjunctiva all over the eyes except the iris. The iris is not covered by this fluid and so it appears to be moved slightly inwards.
Dermatochalasis is a medical condition, defined as an excess of skin in the upper or lower eyelid, also known as "baggy eyes." It may be either an acquired or a congenital condition. It is generally treated with blepharoplasty.
A periorbital hematoma, commonly called a black eye or a shiner, is bruising around the eye commonly due to an injury to the face rather than to the eye. The name refers to the dark-colored bruising which is the result of accumulated blood and fluid in the loose areolar tissue following a blow to the head. This blood tracks freely under the scalp producing a generalised swelling over the dome of the skull but cannot pass into either occipital or the temple regions because of the bony attachments of the occipitofrontalis muscle. But this fluid can, however, track forward into the eyelid because the occipitofrontalis muscle has no bony attachment anteriorly. This leads to formation of hematoma a few hours after the head injury or cranial operation. If injury is more extensive, potentially even a skull fracture, an apparent black eye can sometimes worsen and may require professional medical treatment before it will resolve. This is more likely if the area around both eyes has been injured or if there is a history of prior head injury or fracture around the eye. Though disfiguring, the vast majority of black eyes are not serious, require little or no treatment, and will resolve spontaneously within a week or two.
Blepharoplasty is the plastic surgery operation for correcting defects, deformities, and disfigurations of the eyelids; and for aesthetically modifying the eye region of the face. With the excision and the removal, or the repositioning of excess tissues, such as skin and adipocyte fat, and the reinforcement of the corresponding muscle and tendon tissues, the blepharoplasty procedure resolves functional and cosmetic problems of the periorbita, which is the area from the eyebrow to the upper portion of the cheek. The procedure is more common among women, who accounted for approximately 85% of blepharoplasty procedures in 2014 in the US and 88% of such procedures in the UK.
Lagophthalmos is the inability to close the eyelids completely.
Graves’ ophthalmopathy, also known as thyroid eye disease (TED), is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder of the orbit and periorbital tissues, characterized by upper eyelid retraction, lid lag, swelling, redness (erythema), conjunctivitis, and bulging eyes (exophthalmos). It occurs most commonly in individuals with Graves' disease, and less commonly in individuals with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, or in those who are euthyroid.
Periorbital cellulitis, or preseptal cellulitis, is an inflammation and infection of the eyelid and portions of skin around the eye anterior to the orbital septum. It may be caused by breaks in the skin around the eye, and subsequent spread to the eyelid; infection of the sinuses around the nose (sinusitis); or from spread of an infection elsewhere through the blood.
Blepharochalasis is an inflammation of the eyelid that is characterized by exacerbations and remissions of eyelid edema, which results in a stretching and subsequent atrophy of the eyelid tissue, leading to the formation of redundant folds over the lid margins. It typically affects only the upper eyelids, and may be unilateral as well as bilateral.
Frontonasal dysplasia (FND) is a congenital malformation of the midface. For the diagnosis of FND, a patient should present at least two of the following characteristics: hypertelorism, a wide nasal root, vertical midline cleft of the nose and/or upper lip, cleft of the wings of the nose, malformed nasal tip, encephalocele or V-shaped hair pattern on the forehead. The cause of FND remains unknown. FND seems to be sporadic (random) and multiple environmental factors are suggested as possible causes for the syndrome. However, in some families multiple cases of FND were reported, which suggests a genetic cause of FND.
Liposuction, or simply lipo, is a type of fat-removal procedure used in plastic surgery. Evidence does not support an effect on weight beyond a couple of months and does not appear to affect obesity-related problems. In the United States, liposuction is the most common cosmetic surgery.
Nasal reconstruction using a paramedian forehead flap within oral and maxillofacial surgery, is a surgical technique to reconstruct different kinds of nasal defects. In this operation a reconstructive surgeon uses skin from the forehead above the eyebrow and pivots it vertically to replace missing nasal tissue. Throughout history the technique has been modified and adjusted by many different surgeons and it has evolved to become a popular way of repairing nasal defects.
The tint of forehead skin so exactly matches that of the face and nose that it must be first choice. Is not the forehead the crowning feature of the face and important in expression? Why then should we jeopardize its beauty to make a nose? First, because in many instances, the forehead makes far and away the best nose. Second, with some plastic juggling, the forehead defect can be camouflaged effectively.
Buried penis, also called hidden penis or retractile penis, is a congenital or acquired condition in which the penis is partially or completely hidden below the surface of the skin. A buried penis can lead to urinary difficulties, poor hygiene, infection, and inhibition of normal sexual function.
Stasis papillomatosis is a disease characterized by chronic congestion of the extremities, with blood circulation interrupted in a specific area of the body. A consequence of this congestion and inflammation is long-term lymphatic obstruction. It is also typically characterized by the appearance of numerous papules. Injuries can range from small to large plates composed of brown or pink, smooth or hyperkeratotic papules. The most typical areas where injuries occur are the back of the feet, the toes, the legs, and the area around a venous ulcer formed in the extremities, although the latter is the rarest of all. These injuries include pachydermia, lymphedema, lymphomastic verrucosis and elephantosis verrucosa. The disease can be either localized or generalized; the localized form makes up 78% of cases. Treatment includes surgical and pharmaceutical intervention; indications for partial removal include advanced fibrotic lymphedema and elephantiasis. Despite the existence of these treatments, chronic venous edema, which is a derivation of stasis papillomatosis, is only partially reversible. The skin is also affected and its partial removal may mean that the skin and the subcutaneous tissue are excised. A side effect of the procedure is the destruction of existing cutaneous lymphatic vessels. It also risks papillomatosis, skin necrosis and edema exacerbation.
