Lipoma Removal Gallery Patient 119935121

Procedure: Interesting case. This patient presented with a left facial mass that had been growing for over a decade. Another surgeon told him long ago that it was too risky to remove the mass because it was in an area near a branch of the facial nerve. The patient has always had a beard to hide the mass but eventually it got to big to conceal. I removed the mass through an incision in the neck and it turned out to be an atypical lipomatous tumor - essentially liposarcoma, a cancer that is treated with surgical resection. The marginal mandibular nerve which pulls the lower lip down was right in the middle of the tumor and had to be completely dissected off the tumor. However, the nerve was saved! The patient still has some weakness of this nerve 3 months out but is looking pretty good! He should regain full function. I’ve included his CT scans and some surgical photos and videos which show just how big this mass was! The patient is a graphic designer for video games and he gifted me an anatomy book of facial expressions that he uses for work. He is such a thoughtful person and I’m thrilled to have helped him get his face back! #facetumor #liposarcoma #cancer #happypatient #femaleplasticsurgeon #newface #facialanatomy #facialanatomyteaching