title: The role of plastic surgery in the management of airway obstruction.
abstract: A patient with the rare genetic disease of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation is presented. The phenotypic presentation included localized, idiosyncratic lipodystrophy that caused life-threatening respiratory obstruction. Plastic surgical excision and suction-assisted lipoplasty of huge deposits of fat and skin led to marked improvement in patient posture and ventilation. This rare disorder, stages of treatment, and salient references are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Highline Community Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA. CyoteGulch@aol.com
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Wise
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D004831:Epilepsies, Myoclonic / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008060:Lipodystrophy / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D017243:MERRF Syndrome / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D014140:Tracheotomy