Open AccessAngiosarcoma of the scalp
Author(s) -
Manjiri Das Gupta,
Nilay Chakrabarti,
Pravin Agrawal,
Swati Narurkar
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
indian journal of plastic surgery/indian journal of plastic surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.299
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1998-376X
pISSN - 0970-0358
DOI - 10.4103/0970-0358.53023
Subject(s) - medicine , angiosarcoma , scalp , radiation therapy , hemangiosarcoma , surgery , biopsy , pyogenic granuloma , chemotherapy , wide local excision , lesion , soft tissue , radiology , head and neck , presentation (obstetrics) , metastasis , cancer
Angiosarcoma is a relatively rare soft tissue tumour. It usually occurs in the head and neck, and especially in the scalp, in elderly people. Its presentation varies from a small plaque to multifocal nodules. The treatment depends on the extent of the disease. Most cases are treated with wide excision with reconstruction. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are advocated in the recurrent or extensive lesions with regional or distant metastasis. Other modalities such as immunomodulation have been tried. A case of a 55-year-old female patient with a bleeding scalp lesion is presented. Initially thought to be a pyogenic granuloma, on excisional biopsy it was diagnosed as angiosarcoma with microscopic involvement of the margins. Wide excision with reconstruction using a local rotation flap was done at a second stage. The patient was not given postoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy. There has been no recurrence for two years.