Facial swelling can occur in all ages and is seen very often among pediatric patients. There are various reasons why this problem occurs. The main causes of these swellings occurring are hugely diverse. The general range of clinical manifestations is classified broadly in to four main groups. These include the cases of acute swelling that is accompanied by inflammation, and then there are the cases of non progressive swellings that occur. There are also the cases of progressive swelling that is slow and finally the rapidly progressing swellings that affect some. Some of the main conditions that will result in a case of acute swelling occurring include sinusitis, lymphadenitis, abscess and odontogenic infections. The main modality used in to help in the detection of these abscesses include contrast enhance tomography on the computer. These are the cases that need surgical drainage. In the case of non progressive swellings that occur in mid face, this is normally a congenital anomaly. A slow progressive swelling could be an indication of the existence of a hemangioma, neurofibroma, vascular malformation, lymphangioma or even a pseudocyst. A differential diagnosis for a fastly progressing facial swelling that is linked with the cranial nerve deficits includes langherhans cell histiocytosis, osteogenic sarcoma and Ewing sarcoma.
Doctors are usually able to recognize the indications and also select any appropriate types of imaging techniques to aid in the evaluation of a person’s facial swelling. One can form a facial edema differential diagnosis based on imaging and clinical manifestations. The facial edema is found to be a rare condition which is commonly linked with the acne vulgaris. The clinical presentation of this condition is consistent with symmetric, localized, non painful, non pitting edema over one’s glabellar region, nasal region, mid face and even the infraorbital regions. Most of these cases are usually seen among the males that are in their late teens or even in their early twenties. These individuals may also have a history of acne that is followed by the onset of the edema. The pathogenesis of this condition is not very well defined and thus ends up making this condition a difficult one to treat. Some of the treatments for this condition include the use of x ray radiation, hot water injections and even the use of topical steroids. In the present times oral antibiotics, isotretinoin, oral steroids and even various surgical procedures have been used with different degrees of success.