The Korean Journal of Laboratory Medicine  2006;26(1):32-35

doi:10.3343/kjlm.2006.26.1.32

Infection with Scopulariopsis brevicaulis after Cosmetic Surgery of the Face.

Bong Joon OH 1 ; Myong Jong CHAE ; Duck CHO ; Seung Jung KEE ; Myung Geun SHIN ; Jong Hee SHIN ; Soon Pal SUH ; Dong Wook RYANG

Affiliations

+expand

Keywords

Scopulariopsis brevicaulis; Facial cellulitis; Cosmetic surgery

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

Scopulariopsis brevicaulis is a ubiquitous soil saprophyte that commonly causes onychomycosis, accounting for 1-10% of such infections. Rarely, it may be responsible for cutaneous lesions or more severe infections, especially after traumatic or surgical injuries. We report of a 54-year-old female patient who developed facial cellulitis caused by S. brevicaulis, which occurred one year after the patient underwent cosmetic surgery of the face. The patient suffered from febrile sense, pain and a growing mass lesion on her left cheek, which were diagnosed as facial cellulitis associated with foreign material that had been implanted at the time of cosmetic surgery. Three pus cultures from the mass lesion which performed at a week interval yielded the same S. brevicaulis. Surgical removal and drainage by using liposuction procedure resulted in a favorable outcome. To our knowledge this is the first report of S. brevicaulis infection associated with cosmetic surgery in Korea.