Breast Ulcer

For several weeks, a 30-year-old woman had a 1 × 2-cm, oval lesion with a rolled border in the inner upper quadrant of the right breast that had progressed in size and ulcerated. Six weeks earlier, she had been bitten by her infant son in the same area. The medical history and physical examination were otherwise normal.

The clinical appearance of the lesion suggested basal cell carcinoma. Robert P. Blereau, MD, of Morgan City, La, excised the lesion and sent it to a pathologist for review.

Histopathologic findings indicated a skin ulcer with underlying chronic inflammation, which consisted of predominantly lymphocytes and a few scattered plasma cells throughout most of the dermis. The epidermis had thickening near the edge with overlying hyperkeratosis.

Excision was the only treatment necessary.