CLINICAL CASES   

Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia 2003 June;138(3):257-61

Copyright © 2003 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English, Italian

Chronic radiodermatitis following coronary angiogra-phy and stenting

Piccinno R. ¹, Cusini M. ², Caccialanza M. ¹

¹ Photoradiotherapy Department 2 Operative Unit of Dermatology I Institute of Dermatologic Sciences Ospedale Maggiore, IRCCS University of Milan, Milan, Italy

Interventional radiology has been more and more largely employed in the last 10 years with diagnostic and therapeutic advantages. Its introduction has made necessary to apply accurate protection techniques in order to prevent the damages due to the often prolonged exposure to X-rays. In fact several cases of chronic radiodermatitis have been reported by the literature, occurring in patients who underwent either coronary angiography or percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, or other interventional radiologic techniques, where fluoroscopy is widely used. The observation of 1 case of chronic radiodermatitis in a patient who underwent coronary angioplasty with stenting and coronary angiography has been a reason for revising the topic: the lack of other reports in the Italian literature may indicate that this clinical picture is often misdiagnosed.