Rare. Onset in general between 30 and 40 years of age, but earlier onset cases have been described. Disease characterized by chronic erythematosus edema of the forehead, nasal wings, cheeks and eyelids without any identifiable cause. Generally considered as a form of rosacea. The histological aspects are close to those of chronic lupus erythematosus. A common hypothesis is the progressive destruction of the perivascular connective tissue of the dermis, especially elastin, resulting in a loss of integrity of the vascular walls with transudation of fluid causing the edema.

Anesthetic implications:

risk of difficult bag and mask ventilation, even difficult intubation if the lips are involved.

References : 

-        Maamouri H, Larli T, El Ouri A, Bouslema K et al.
Maladie de Morbihan, à propos d’un cas.
Revue de Méd Int 2015 ; S1 : A103

-        Torres-Gomez FJ, Neila-Iglesias J, Fernandez-Machin P.
Morbihan’s syndrome : report of a case and literature review.
J Dermatol & Clin Res 2018; 6: 116 (3p)

-        Adabala V, Govil N, Barik AK, Goyal N.
Airway management in a case of Morbihan syndrome, a rare clinical entity.
J Clin Anesth 2019; 54: 72-3.

Updated: December 2018