Diagnosis: Kaposi sarcoma (KS).
MICROSCOPIC FINDINGS AND CLINICAL COURSE
Histologic examination of the biopsy specimens revealed a dermal nodular spindle cell proliferation and vascular proliferation with irregular slitlike spaces. Red blood cell extravasation was prominent, and eosinophilic hyaline globules were noted on periodic acid–Schiff staining. Mitoses were evident, but there was no apparent significant cellular atypia. The spindle cells were positive for CD34 and factor VIII on immunohistochemical staining.
Our patient had previously been treated with serial amputations as lesions recurred, a seemingly aggressive modality but one that was commonly used prior to the current understanding of the usual clinical course of classic KS. Localized radiation to the recurrent lesions produced excellent results.
DISCUSSION
Our patient was of Mediterranean descent, and his right leg had been amputated in the early 1970s for the treatment of "sarcoma." His records indicated that he presented in 1968 with a small violaceous lesion on his right fifth toe that had been diagnosed as a . . . [Full Text of this Article]
