Axillary web syndrome with vascular thrombosis and arterial intimal hyperplasia.

Axillary web syndrome (AWS) is characterized by firm, linear, subcutaneous bands in the axilla extending to the arm or hand.1 The bands are accompanied by pain and a limited range of joint motion due to tension. AWS mostly affects patients with breast cancer who have undergone axillary lymph node dissection or sentinel node biopsy. Although generally considered to be of lymphatic origin,1 the exact pathogenesis of AWS remains unclear. Here we report a case of AWS following an axillary lymph node biopsy in a patient with mycosis fungoides, in which histologic examination revealed vascular thrombosis and arterial stenosis with intimal hyperplasia.