First Report of Pyoderma Gangrenosum after Surgery of Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema with Transfer of Vascularized Free Lymph Nodes of the Groin and Simultaneous DIEP Flap.

BACKGROUND: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare cutaneous ulcerative disease that does not respond to antibiotics and worsens with surgical manipulation. This is the first report in the literature revealing that this disease complicates total microsurgical breast reconstruction associated with the transfer of free lymph nodes.

CASE REPORT: We report the case of a female patient who underwent left-breast microsurgical reconstruction with a deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap and simultaneous transfer of vascularized free lymph nodes for the surgical treatment of secondary left upper-limb lymphedema, and who developed a severe PG of both the skin of the flap and the donor zone on postoperative day 7. After exclusion of other etiologies, treatment with high-dose corticosteroids and topical zinc sulfate was initiated. The flap was salvaged and breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) surgery was definitively effective despite the PG.

CONCLUSIONS: PG should be considered in the differential diagnosis of progressive cutaneous ulcers following surgical interventions, once infectious and ischemic etiologies have been excluded. Early initiation of immunosuppressive treatment can lead to preservation of the initial flap and function of the transferred lymph nodes in the case of microsurgical breast reconstruction with associated lymph node transfer.