Lymphomatoid granulomatosis of the skin: Light microscopic and ultrastructural studies

Abstract

A case of lymphomatoid granulomatosis involving the lung and skin (Liebow's disease) in a 71-year-old man is presented. The principal symptomatic features consisted of cutaneous involvement of the lower extremities. Secondary pseudomonas infection ultimately led to a below-the-knee amputation of the left leg. Several biopsies of the skin were studied with the light and electron microscope. The dermis showed a vasculitis with focal and diffuse infiltrations of pleomorphic cells, predominantely of the reticulohistiocytic group. The histiocytes showed variable degrees of differentiation; some appeared to be distinctly neoplastic rather than reactive. The cells seem to be different from mycosis cells as well as from those histiocytes encountered in histiocytosis X.