Clinicopathological and Immunohistochemical Study of 14 Cases of Morbihan Disease: An Insight Into Its Pathogenesis

Omalizumab in the treatment of Morbihan syndrome in an adolescent girl - case report and literature review

Morbihan syndrome (MS) is characterized by solid facial edema, usually related to rosacea or acne vulgaris. The facial edema deforms the patient's features, can impair peripheral vision, and affects quality of life. Its pathophysiology remains unclear. The disease usually has a slow and chronic course. MS most commonly affects middle-aged Caucasian men with rosacea and is rare in people below 20 years of age. MS is a diagnosis of exclusion. There is no standard treatment for MS, though systemic isotretinoin and antihistamines are mainly used. We present the case of an adolescent girl with MS nonresponding to 19 months of isotretinoin treatment with add-on antihistamines. Therapy with monthly administration of omalizumab (anti-IgE) for 6 months was an effective therapeutic option, improving the quality of life. Our case is the second description of omalizumab use in Morbihan syndrome, the first in an adolescent.

Morbihan disease misdiagnosed as senile blepharoptosis and successfully treated with short-term minocycline and ketotifen: A case report

BACKGROUND

Morbihan disease is a rare skin condition with diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Facial nonpitting erythematous edema is usually considered to be a characteristic manifestation and diagnostic clue for the Morbihan disease. Treatment of Morbihan disease remains a dilemma due to its long course, poor response, and high recurrence rate.

CASE SUMMARY

We report the case of a 69-year-old man with Morbihan disease. The patient presented ptosis as the first and main symptom. There was no obvious edema or other skin lesions. The patient was misdiagnosed with senile blepharoptosis based on eyelid performance and no treatment was administered to him. After continuous progressive asthenia of eye-opening and ptosis for more than one year, a skin biopsy was recommended. Histopathological analysis showed edema in the dermis, lymphatic hyperplasia and dilatation, and perivascular lymphocytic infiltration. An obvious increase in toluidine blue-stained mast cells was observed. The patient was finally diagnosed with Morbihan disease. Minocycline and ketotifen were prescribed based on the increase of mast cells in skin tissue slices. The patient experienced rapid relief seven days later and complete remission after 40 d from the commencement of the treatment.

CONCLUSION

Ptosis without obvious swelling could be the only or main clinical manifestation of Morbihan disease in rare conditions. An increase of mast cells was an important therapeutic clue to the rapid and remarkable efficiency of the combination therapy of minocycline and antihistamine.

Progressive disfiguring facial masses with pupillary axis obstruction from Morbihan syndrome: A case report

BACKGROUND

Morbihan syndrome is a rare illness, which presents with recurrent pitting edema on the upper two thirds of the face causing facial contour deformities, and Morbihan syndrome obstructing the pupillary axis with ptosis was seldomly reported.

CASE SUMMARY

A 59-year-old woman presented with a 15-year history of facial swelling that progressively invaded bilaterally from the inner canthus and eyelids outwards. Imaging examination indicated that the bilateral periorbital and the left temporal soft tissues had swelling without cranium invasion. Histopathological analysis showed a large amount of lymphocyte infiltration, and immunohistochemistry showed positive expression of CD68 in clear-cut granulomas and D2-40 in the lymphatic endothelium. Finally, the clinical diagnosis of Morbihan syndrome was confirmed.

CONCLUSION

Morbihan syndrome is an infrequent and refractory disease, which is characteristic with recurrent woody facial edema on the upper two thirds of the face. Solid facial edema is persistent and non-pitting, causing facial contour deformities and even vision field impairment. The diagnosis of Morbihan syndrome depends on clinical features, imaging information, and pathology. Blepharoplasty is optional to improve the visual field for these patients with severe pupillary axis obstruction.

Surgical Lymphoedema Treatment of Morbihan Disease: A Case Report

ABSTRACT

Morbihan disease is a rare condition characterized by persistent erythema and solid edema of the upper two thirds of the face, leading to visual impairment and significant esthetic disfigurement. The underlying etiology of the disease remains uncertain, but its correlation with lymphoedema has been conjectured. Definitive treatment options are also lacking, and most current topical, systemic, and surgical interventions provide transient or partial results.In this report, we describe a case of Morbihan disease in a 32-year-old man. He suffered from erythema and swelling over the left periorbital region for 6 years, and was diagnosed with Morbihan disease. As the edema was unresponsive to drug therapy, he was referred to our department. Indocyanine green lymphography was performed, and the diagnosis of facial lymphoedema was confirmed. Manual lymphatic drainage was not effective, so we proceeded with surgical procedures. Lymphaticovenous anastomosis was performed to improve lymphatic drainage, and blepharoplasty was performed to debulk the enlarged tissue of lymphoedema. The visual field improved significantly, and the patient remains free from reexpansion of the lesion during the 1-year follow-up.The surgical approach for lymphoedema treatment can be a viable option for severe Morbihan disease unresponsive to nonsurgical therapies.

Granulomas in Dermatopathology: Principal Diagnoses - Part 2

Part 2 of this series on granulomatous diseases focuses on skin biopsy findings. Whereas the first part treated noninfectious conditions (metabolic disorders and tumors, among other conditions), this part mainly deals with various types of infectious disease along with other conditions seen fairly often by clinical dermatologists.