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Case Report
A case of vulvar tumoral/vegetative herpes infection in an immunocompromised patient
1 Medical student, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA
2 Associate Professor of Ob-Gyn, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA
3 Professor of Dermatology and Pathology, Department of Dermatology and Pathology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY,, USA
Address correspondence to:
Glynis Scott
MD, Box 601, Department of Dermatology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY 14642,
USA
Message to Corresponding Author
Article ID: 100111Z08SS2022
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Scott S, Bonham A, Scott G. A case of vulvar tumoral/vegetative herpes infection in an immunocompromised patient. J Case Rep Images Obstet Gynecol 2022;8:100111Z08SS2022.ABSTRACT
Diagnosis of genital herpes is generally straightforward, allowing for prompt treatment. However, genital herpes may rarely present as large vegetative plaques, also known as “tumoral herpes” or “vegetative herpes,” mimicking malignancy, most commonly in patients infected with the HIV-AIDS virus. Tumoral/vegetative herpes (TVH) in renal transplant patients are rare. An 85-year-old woman with a history of renal transplant presented with a 1-year history of large painful vulvar masses. On exam, the patient had multiple exophytic lesions over the right labia majora extending to the perineum. A wide local excision was performed. Pathology revealed an exophytic lesion with abundant dermal inflammation. The epidermis showed scattered herpetic inclusions within keratinocytes that stained positively for herpes simplex virus types 1/2. A diagnosis of TVH was made. We present this patient to alert the clinician that genital herpes may present as an exophytic mass mimicking malignancy, particularly in immunocompromised patients. While the majority of cases of TVH have been reported in patients infected with HIV-AIDS, it is important to recognize that TVH may occur in other settings of immunocompromise, including patients with renal transplant.
Keywords: HSV, Immunosuppression, Transplant, Tumoral herpes, Vegetative herpes
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Author Contributions
Samantha Scott - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Adrienne Bonham - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Glynis Scott - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guaranter of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2022 Samantha Scott et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
