Bruising
Cosmetic Surgery - Plastic Surgery - Aesthetic Medicine - Reconstructive Surgery
A bruise is an effusion of blood under the skin brought about by a
rupture of the blood capillaries. A bruise may be a result of trauma to
the soft tissue resulting from the impact of a so called “blunt”
object (a contusion is an injury that does not involve destruction or
breaking of the skin, it is a blunt trauma). Bruises are also observed
in the normal small postoperative effects of some aesthetic, plastic or
reconstructive procedures. A bruise is found in the first two stages
of a contusion with or without the presence of a haematoma (collection
of blood in a cavity created by the compression and rupture of an
artery in or between tissues).
A bruise is a benign, everyday occurrence. It marks the point where
the skin has been damaged following a surgical procedure for example.
A bruise shows itself in an identical manner regardless of its origin:
one or more red spots that are livid to begin with and the origin of
which is extravasated blood from the rupture of capillaries. The
capillaries will repair themselves but the blood that has infiltrated
the tissue coagulates. The bruise does not disappear with pressure and
persists until the blood has disappeared through dissipation. . The
colour of a bruise is caused by the products of haemoglobin
degradation: biliverdin (green pigment) and bilirubin (red pigment that
look yellow).
The classical evolution of a bruise takes place over a fortnight. The
chronology of the evolution of the bruise does not vary greatly from
one patient to another: the first day the bruise is blackish, and then
it is purplish on the second and third days and bluish for three to
four days. The bruise becomes greenish for five to six days and finally
yellowish for between ten and fifteen days, disappearing completely
twenty-five days later.
Almost no treatment is available, only the applications of ice which may help reduce possible swelling.