Answer of Dermatopathology Case 52

Acquired Tufted Angioma


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Abstract:

Perianal acquired tufted angioma associated with pregnancy: case report. Tech Coloproctol. 2002 Sep;6(2):117-9.
Tufted angiomas are rare lesions described as slowly growing/spreading erythematous macules especially located in the upper trunk and neck. Herein we report the case of perianal location of a tufted angioma in a young pregnant woman. She came to our observation complaining of perianal pain accompanied by bleeding at defecation. A lesion resembling a perianal fissure was observed. Mild hypertonia of the internal sphincter was confirmed at manometry. After one week of ineffective medical treatment, surgery was planed at the end of the sixteenth week under local anaesthesia. The lesion was excised and a minimal sphincterotomy was performed; histopathology report described features of a tufted angioma. The pregnancy proceeded regularly, without anal symptoms, followed by normal vaginal delivery at the thirty-eighth week. This case showed three peculiar features: the association of tufted angioma and pregnancy, the perianal location, and the clinical appearance suggestive of an anal fissure. The clinical manifestation of a perianal tufted angioma, mimicking an anal fissure, is of utmost importance to the differential diagnosis and treatment plan, especially in a pregnant woman.

Eruptive tufted angiomas in a patient with Crohn's disease.J Clin Pathol.2005 Feb;58(2):214-6.
Angioblastoma is a rare, benign vascular tumour composed of undifferentiated mesenchymal cells with a tendency to form lumina. This entity was first described by Nakagawa in 1949 as angioblastoma, and Wilson Jones was the first to use the term "tufted angioma" in 1976. Tufted angiomas usually occur in infancy and spread slowly. This report describes lesions from the right side of the forehead, forearms, and thighs of a 24 year old man with a four year history of Crohn's disease, who was receiving infliximab in addition to long standing azathioprine and ciprofloxacillin. He developed numerous small itchy erythematous vascular appearing papules, which on histological examination resembled tufted angiomas, showing the classic "cannon ball" appearance. The lesions regressed within three months. This case may represent an eruptive acquired tufted angioma in which immunosuppression or drug induced modification of angiogenesis played a role in its development and regression. One previous case of eruptive tufted angioma has been reported in an immunosuppressed patient.

Acquired tufted angioma: a unique vascular lesion not previously reported in the oral mucosa. Br J Dermatol. 2000 Apr;142(4):794-9.
We describe two patients with acquired tufted angioma, a unique vascular lesion not previously reported in the oral mucosa. In one patient, the lesion manifested as a purple-red papule and, in the other, as a blue submucosal swelling. Both lesions were non-painful and neither was associated with a history of trauma. The histopathological features consisted of scattered, irregularly shaped tufts, primarily composed of poorly formed capillary spaces and slit-like vascular channels. Capillary spaces were often closely packed, producing solid areas which stained for smooth muscle actin. Staining for factor VIII-related antigen was positive only within endothelial cells lining well-formed vascular channels. Both lesions were treated by excision; short-term follow-up of one patient revealed no evidence of recurrence. Similarities between this and other vascular processes may have resulted in misdiagnosis of this lesion in the past. The clinical significance of acquired tufted angioma in the oral mucosa is not known.