Surgical treatment of livedo vasculitis

ABSTRACT

Livedo vasculitis is thought to be a thrombogenic disorder that is related to the autoimmune disease. It clinically shows purplish mottling and recurrent painful ulcers in the lower extremities, leaving atrophie blanche after healing of the ulcers. Histopathologic finding are thrombotic occlusion in the mid-dermal vessels without necrotizing vasculitis. The therapeutic approach has largely been made by the use of drugs that stimulate endogenous fibrinolytic activitiy, that inhibit thrombus formation, or that cause vasodilation, but surgical intervention by excision and skin graftion has rarely been reported as a primary treatment.In our experience, two patients with livedo vasculitis, who had been unresponsive to various medications, were treated with wide excision and several times of skin grafting. And they experienced complete healing without recurrence.