Giant Dollish Face of Body Dysmorphic Disorder Patient Resulting from Compulsive Foreign Body Injection.

Kwon, Bong Sik; Yoon, Jin Ho; Kang, So Ra; Cho, Min Seon

Case Report

Journal of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons 2003;30(5):668-673.
Published online September 1, 2003.

Giant Dollish Face of Body Dysmorphic Disorder Patient Resulting from Compulsive Foreign Body Injection.

Bong Sik Kwon, Jin Ho Yoon, So Ra Kang, Min Seon Cho

¹Deparement of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea.
²Deparement of Pathology, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea.
³Yoon Jin Ho Plastic Clinic, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Body dysmorphic disorders can be often diagnosed among the group of patients seeking plastic surgery with excessiveness. For the correction of unrealistic body images tied up in their minds, they have a tendency to choose improper plastic operation or unlicensed procedures rather than the psychiatric intervention. So- called 'illegal injection' performed by the unlicensed has been readily accessible tempting alternatives, which could result in disastrous outcomes due to multiple compulsive injections. Nowadays injection of foreign materials, such as paraffin oil or liquid silicon, is thought to be obsolete in modern medical procedures. Nevertheless, these illegal procedures have been in extensive use among some Asian countries, including Korea, by the unlicensed. Local complication, particularly, granulomatous inflammatory responses of variable severity can occur, despite skillful techniques and even small amount of injection. Futhermore, these lesions frequently persist or recur after treatment. We have a case of a body dysmorphic disorder manifesting severe, huge foreign body granulomas caused by silicon, paraffin and oil injected. Our case was a 38- years-old woman who had multiple huge masses on head and neck which had slowly grown after multiple injections for about 16 years. After a psychiatric intervention, we performed partial resection of masses in cheek and neck area, followed by liposuction of forehead, neck and scalp. A brief history of case and the clinical significance of foreign body injection in body dysmorphic disorder were described.

Keywords: Foreign body injection; Granuloma; Body dysmorphic disorder