title: An unusual congenital facial anomaly: erectile proboscis-like structure.
abstract: We report a 3-week-old male infant with an unusual congenital facial anomaly, which is characterized by a proboscis-like erectile structure arising from the right malar region. Although it is a tubular structure resembling the proboscis lateralis, this case was more likely to be a new congenital anomaly because of the following reasons: (1) in contrast with the proboscis lateralis, which originates from the medial portion of the orbital roof, the structure was located at the right malar region in our case; (2) although it was soft and freely dangling on the face, this proboscis-like structure was strongly erectile, with contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle when the infant cried; (3) histopathological examination revealed that the structure was composed by normal fibroadipose tissue and striated muscle covered with a healthy skin and subcutaneous tissue. In contrast with histopathological characteristics of a proboscis lateralis, there was neither osteocartilaginous tissue nor mucosa in the structure. Although it is a typical finding for a proboscis lateralis, no lumen was found in the presented anomaly. Because of these unique characteristics, which remarkably differ from previously reported facial anomalies, we thought this case worth reporting. A literature review revealed that no similar case has been reported in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Gaziantep University School of Medicine, Turkey. doctormutaf@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mutaf
authors.forename: Dağhan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Isik
authors.forename: Berker
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Büyükgüral
mesh_terms: D005145:Face / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000151:congenital* / Q000601:surgery*; D009626:Terminology as Topic