A pacemaker pocket mass has many faces

Abstract

The development of malignant neoplasms over the site of pacemaker implantation is a rare event, with a limited number of published case reports. We report the case of a 78-year-old male who presented with discomfort and pocket mass expansion, reportedly following trauma. Due to initial presumption of a simple hematoma, dissection and drainage were performed without tissue collection for histology. Later presentation with an exophytic ulcerated mass led to biopsy and identification of a lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. To the best of our knowledge this is the first reported case of a cutaneous lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma presenting as a pacemaker pocket mass, and underlines the importance of systematic pacemaker inspection, of adequate histological characterization and of a high degree of clinical suspicion for the identification malignancy in this context. <Learning objective: We report the first case of a lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma presenting primarily as a pacemaker pocket mass. Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma is a rare and indolent subtype of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma that may present with cutaneous manifestations. Due to the extreme rarity of malignant neoplasms presenting as pacemaker pocket masses, a high degree is clinical suspicion is required, and tissue histology plays a key role in the diagnosis.>.

Keywords: Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma; Malignant neoplasm; Pacemaker pocket.

Fig. 1

Initial presentation of the pacemaker pocket expansion.

Fig. 2

Left infraclavicular lesion overlying pacemaker generator with approximately 10 cm and a central exophytic, vegetating ulcerated area.