Percutaneous Quilting Technique for the Treatment of Morel-Lavallée Lesion.

Objective: This study looks at the outcome of percutaneous quilting technique for the treatment of closed degloving injuries or Morel-Lavallée lesions (MLL).

Design: Prospective single-centre nonrandomized case series.

Participants: Patients with MLL visiting our hospital between January 2012 and May 2018.

Method: The method involves percutaneous single-stage suturing of skin and deep fascia with heavy, non-absorbable, non-braided sutures starting from periphery to centre.

Outcome Measures: Resolution of the lesion.

Results: Twenty-two patients with MLL treated, which included 18 males and 4 females with an average age of 22 (range 16-52). Lesions varied in length from 12 to 60 cm. The average time gap from the injury to drainage of the lesion was 7 days (range 2-60 days). We followed these cases weekly for 4 weeks and then once a month until 6 months and then at the end of the year. All 22 cases healed uneventfully.

Conclusion: Percutaneous drainage along with suturing of the skin and subcutaneous tissue to deep fascia prevents the discordant movement and obliterates the dead space-aiding apposition of the layers. This is a simple and effective procedure with low recurrence rates that addresses the primary pathology of MLL.

Level Of Evidence: Therapeutic level IV.