Facial Ultrasonography in acquired facial lipoatrophy

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume IX, Issue V, May 2022 | ISSN 2321–2705

Facial Ultrasonography in acquired facial lipoatrophy

Hadi Khazaei M.D., M.S., M.C.R.1*, Danesh Khazaei , Dawn Brundage 3, Shravani Mikkilineni M.D.4, Roger A. Dailey M.D., FACS.5
^1-5Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, 97239, USA
*Corresponding author

Abstract: Facial lipoatrophy refers to the loss of adipose tissue and is manifested by flattening or indentation of the convex contours of the face while lipodystrophy is a wider term associated with abnormalities of fat tissue distribution and its metabolism, leading to excessive loss and/or accumulation of adipocytes.
Although the management of facial lipoatrophy is very important for a patient’s social life and mental health, no treatment framework has been developed due to the unknown nature of the disease manifestation. Early recognition and treatment of the active stage of connective tissue diseases is of essential significance in prevention of subsequent scarring and atrophic lesions. Diagnostic techniques such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (USG), are used to measure the severity of the lipoatrophy.
The present study was designed to provide sequential imaging to visualize the disease progression.

Keywords: face lipoatrophy, facial ultrasonography, connective tissue diseases, lupus erythematosus profundus, morphea, scleroderma.

I. INTRODUCTION:

Ultrasonography generates sound waves at frequencies beyond the limit of human hearing abilities through electrical stimulation of the customized crystal or chip mounted on the tip of the oscillatory probe. These sound waves propagate through tissues and endure partial reflection back to their starting point when the wave passes through layers of various resistance. When the wavefront returns to the transducer located in the ultrasound probe, it generates electrical energy where it is amplified and converted to a positive sine wave which is displayed as an image. (1)
Time gain compensation (TGC) is a setting applied in diagnostic ultrasound imaging to account for tissue attenuation. By increasing the received signal intensity with depth, the artifacts in the uniformity of a B-mode image intensity are reduced. The purpose of TGC is to normalize the signal amplitude with time, compensating for depth. (1)

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