Morel-Lavallee Lesion: A Forgotten Cause of Bleeding in Trauma

The Morel-Lavallee lesion is a rare soft tissue injury that occurs  due to traumatic shearing force on skin surface causing  separation of skin and subcutaneous tissue resulting in hematoma. This case report depicts a 22-year-old gentleman who was involved  in a motor  vehicle  accident. He complained of pain  and  swelling  over lower  back.  He was treated  for  soft  tissue injury and  admitted  for  pain  control. One  day  post-trauma, he  complained of  increased swelling  over  the  back.  His  hemoglobin dropped  from  12.2g/dL  to  10.7g/dL.  Diagnosis  of  Morel-Lavallae lesion was made.  Initially no surgical intervention was planned. However, in view of worsening  of swelling,  bedside  aspiration  was performed and  subsequently a pigtail catheter  was inserted to drain the hematoma. In total, 2.05 litre of liquefied hematoma was drained.  Thus, Morel-Lavallee lesion is an uncommon soft tissue injury that can cause significant bleeding  following trauma.