[Axillary web syndrome--a variant of Mondor's disease, following excision of an accessory breast]

Abstract

Cording, an unusual form of superficial thrombophlebitis, is a variant of the disease first described by Fage in 1870 and subsequently characterized by Henry Mondor in 1939 as sclerosing thrombophlebitis of the subcutaneous veins of the anterior chest wall. Similar lesions have also been found in the penis, groin, abdomen, arm, and axilla and have been reported under a variety of names. In the axilla the condition is termed axillary web syndrome (AWS) and is seen after axillary lymph node dissection and sentinel lymph node biopsy. A recent report suggests that pathophysiology of AWS is lymphatic in origin rather than venous. We report a unique case of unilateral AWS after excision of an axillary accessory breast and discuss the pathophysiology.