An eruptive vascular proliferation resembling acquired tufted angioma in the recipient of a liver transplant

Abstract

A 59-year-old man developed grouped erythematous papules on the skin of the right axilla and arm shortly after orthotopic liver transplantation. Histologic changes closely resembled those of acquired tufted angioma, with capillary lobules studding the dermis. The lesions spontaneously involuted over several months. Histopathologic and immunohistochemical findings excluded Kaposi's sarcoma and bacillary angiomatosis, the two vascular proliferations most frequently seen in the immunocompromised host. We believe that our case is one of acquired tufted angioma appearing as an eruptive condition similar to eruptive pyogenic granuloma, to which it seems closely related. The involution of lesions in this case is unexplained.