Delivery of high-dose radiation for recurrence of breast cancer in a patient with hidradenitis suppurativa.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition characterised by inflammatory nodules, abscesses, sinus tract formation and scarring. There is a lack of evidence for the use of radical radiotherapy for patients with a diagnosis of HS. A 56-year-old woman with a long-standing diagnosis of HS presented with a cutaneous local recurrence of breast cancer. Radical radiotherapy was offered despite issues with previous prolonged postoperative wound healing associated with the underlying HS. A multidisciplinary evaluation was conducted with breast surgeons, dermatologists and radiation oncologists to assess the safety of delivery of radical radiotherapy. Five weeks post radiotherapy, the patient had no significant residual symptoms from her breast cancer treatment for her HS and no escalation of treatment was required for her HS. Factors contributing to safe delivery of radical radiotherapy include medical optimisation prior to and during treatment, radiation dose, radiation technique and vigilant post-treatment surveillance.

Superior vena cava stent migration into the pulmonary artery causing fatal pulmonary infarction.

Migration of superior vena cava (SVC) stents is a well-recognised complication of their deployment, and numerous strategies exist for their retrieval. To our knowledge, only three cases of migration of an SVC stent to the pulmonary vasculature have previously been reported. None of these patients developed complications that resulted in death. We report a case of SVC stent migration to the pulmonary vasculature with delayed pulmonary artery thrombosis and death from pulmonary infarction. We conclude that early retrieval of migrated stents should be performed to decrease the risk of serious complications.