Leiomyosarcoma of the Face

Ko, Young Il; Lim, Jin Soo; Han, Ki Taik; Kim, Min Cheol

Abstract

Leiomyosarcoma is a rare form of soft tissue neoplasm, with only 1% to 5% occurring in the head and neck region. Current recommended treatment suggests surgical excision with a wide lateral margin, but no definite guidelines regarding excisional margin have been established yet. Recently, complete excision with a narrow surgical margin has been recommended, and the authors present a case of cutaneous leiomyosarcoma on the face that was successfully managed by complete removal with a narrow excisional margin. A 74-year-old woman presented with a 3 cm sized, rapidly growing cutaneous mass on her right preauricular area. Preoperative biopsy of the skin lesion suggested a cutaneous leiomyosarcoma. The authors performed complete surgical excision with a 1 cm lateral margin, and the resulting skin defect was repaired with bilateral V-Y advancement local flaps. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry evaluation confirmed a moderately differentiated cutaneous leiomyosarcoma, with negative margin involvement. The patient refused of any additional treatment, but showed no locoregional recurrence during the 1.5 years of postoperative follow-up period. With a regular postoperative follow-up, cutaneous leiomyosarcomas may be successfully treated with a narrow surgical margin.