Deep biopsy techniques such as diagnostic blepharoplasty may be necessary to correctly diagnose cutaneous angiosarcoma presenting atypically as eyelid swelling.
Deep biopsy may be needed for atypical eyelid swelling; this case leaves open validation in larger cohorts.
BACKGROUND: Cutaneous angiosarcoma presents clinically in numerous ways, and can be mistaken for a different clinical entity, particularly when arising at unusual anatomic locations such as the eyelid. CASE PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of eyelid swelling. Concurrent imaging was also suggestive of an edematous process. Multiple superficial biopsies showed nonspecific dermal inflammation and interstitial edema. A diagnosis of Morbihan disease (chronic and idiopathic lymphedema of the eyelid) was rendered, and the patient was treated with compression and local therapy without clinical improvement. Three years after initial presentation, a diagnostic blepharoplasty was performed revealing a deep dermal vascular proliferation composed of anastomosing vascular channels with an atypical endothelial lining. A diagnosis of cutaneous angiosarcoma was ultimately made. CONCLUSIONS: This case illustrates a unique presentation of cutaneous angiosarcoma and the implications of different biopsy techniques in acquiring the correct diagnosis.
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Ferguson et al. (2018) studied this question.
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