Surgical excision and skin grafting for chronic radiodermatitis following repeated cardiac catheterization can achieve complete wound healing but may only partially relieve pain.
May heal wounds but only partially relieve pain in radiodermatitis; hypothesis-generating, needs prospective series before practice change.
The authors present two patients in whom chronic radiodermatitis developed after repeated cardiac catheterization and coronary angioplasty procedures, with no indication of malignancy. In one patient, after other therapeutic methods were unsuccessful in alleviating his symptoms, the authors excised the lesion with wide surgical margins and skin grafted the area. The mere purpose was to free the patient from the unrelenting pain and discomfort. In this case, the authors achieved complete success in wound healing but only partial success in pain relief.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Barnea et al. (2002) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: