Malleolar Ulceration Induced by Hydroxyurea Therapy for Chronic Eosinophila

Abstract

A 59-year-old African American female presented to a plastic surgery office in consultation for a very painful non-healing wound of her right lateral malleolus. An incisional biopsy was performed and ultimately a diagnosis of hydroxyurea-induced ulcer was concluded. Descriptions of this entity are rare in the surgical and wound care professional literature. This diagnosis does appear in the hematology/oncology literature; however, these practitioners may not be the first to examine a patient with the development of such an ulcer. This article presents the pathophysiology and clinical presentation of hydroxyurea-induced ulceration as well as the characteristics of hydroxyurea-induced ulceration in addition to the case study.