A Rare Case of Pulmonary Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma Presenting with Skin Metastasis

• Published in: Archives of plastic surgery Vol. 43; no. 3; pp. 284 - 287
• Main Authors: Ro, Hyung-Suk, Shin, Jin Yong, Roh, Si-Gyun, Lee, Nae-Ho, Yang, Kyung-Moo, Moon, Woo-Sung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc 01-05-2016; The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons; 대한성형외과학회
• Subjects: Case Report; cutaneous surgery; hemangioendothelioma, epithelioid; skin; 성형외과학; Cutaneous surgery; Skin; Hemangioendothelioma, epithelioid
• ISSN: 2234-6163; 2234-6171
• DOI: 10.5999/aps.2016.43.3.284

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a well-differentiated and rare vascular tumor. Systemic metastases are uncommon. Herein, we present a patient with skin metastasis of pulmonary EHE (PEH) that was treated by wide excision. A 76-year-old male was evaluated due to pulmonary thromboembolism and a solitary pulmonary nodule. A biopsy was performed and pathological examination of the mass confirmed EHE. No metastasis was observed. The patient returned to care approximately two years later due to a painful nodule in the right lower leg. A skin biopsy showed metastatic EHE from the lung. We used a safety margin of 1 cm based on clinical experience, because no prior case had been reported regarding the resection margin appropriate for primary cutaneous EHE and skin metastases of PEH. At four months after surgery, the patient recovered without complications or recurrence. Skin metastasis of PEH is extremely rare, and only two cases have been reported in the literature. In this case, we report a rare case of PEH with histologically diagnosed skin metastasis that was successfully treated by curative resection. It is expected that this case report will provide a helpful contribution to the extant data regarding PEH metastases.