The role of plastic surgery in the management of airway obstruction.

A patient with the rare genetic disease of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation is presented. The phenotypic presentation included localized, idiosyncratic lipodystrophy that caused life-threatening respiratory obstruction. Plastic surgical excision and suction-assisted lipoplasty of huge deposits of fat and skin led to marked improvement in patient posture and ventilation. This rare disorder, stages of treatment, and salient references are discussed.