A Case of Myelodysplastic Syndrome with Clinical Manifestations of Recurrent Cellulitis

Abstract

An 84-year-old male patient with recurrent cellulitis in the left submandibular area visited the outpatient clinic. He underwent debridement of the wound with administration of intravenous antibiotics. The defect was reconstructed using a split-thickness skin graft. After 2 months, the cellulitis recurred adjacent to the prior lesion in the submandibular area. The wound improved with intravenous antibiotics and conser-vative treatment. During the second hospitalization, the patient was evaluated for abnormal complete blood count, and was finally diag-nosed with myelodysplastic syndromes. Recurrent cellulitis in this patient was not accompanied with any other symptoms; instead of being a simple uncontrolled infection it had a systemic origin. Physicians should consider the possibility of systemic causes for recurrent cellulitis, such as myelodysplastic syndromes, especially if laboratory results suggest pancytopenia.