Having Long Bruise On Thigh. Feeling Pain And Also Uncomfortable. What Is This?

Posted on Mon, 10 Jun 2013

Question: I have a long bruised area covering the inside of my thigh and increasing to almost the back of the same. I have a similar occurance on my other leg but not so intense. Where the bruising is very noticable It has a lattice type apearance of lighter skin. I have photos of this but when having shown it to a doctor , she said that she had seen it during training but had forgotten what it was suggested to be. My legs are painfull and in just holng the leg up to photograph was very uncomfortable. What on earth can this be.?
I am 56, female. I have previously been treated for stomach cancer 6 years ago. My family has a history on the paternal side of cancers , leukemea and diabetes.

Answered by Dr. Johny Chacko (4 hours later)

Hello,

Thanks for the query.

Based on your description and the pictures submitted, it looks like erythema ab igne or livedoid reticularis / livedoid vasculopathy.

Erythema ab igne is due to constant heat over the skin.
Do you have a habit of keeping lap top on your thighs ?
Do you pour really hot water over thighs during bath ?
In your profession do you expose your skin to hot objects?

Livedoid vasculopathy is associated with a lot of conditions like collagen vascular diseases, haematological abnormalities, etc. It is usually seen lower down in the limbs that is feet and ankle region.

Without an opportunity to closely examine the lesion, I would not be able to specify the condition. You might need to consider a consultation with dermatologist and hematologist for assessment and work up.

Hope this helped. I will be happy to answer any further queries you have.

Wish you good health

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Johny Chacko (16 hours later)

Thankyou for your reply so far but heat is not the issue, none of the counts of laptops, fireside, hot baths or associated applied heat relates.

Answered by Dr. Johny Chacko (11 hours later)

Hello,
Welcome back.
If you do not expose yourself to excessive heat it could be livedo reticularis.
This can have a lot of underlying causes ranging from benign idiopathic, hematological abnormality, collagen vascular diseases to lymphomas.

You can search for livedo reticularis in Wikipedia as it gives some basic information.

I would recommend you to consult a hematologist or rheumatologist for a complete work up. Do not worry, for all you know it will be benign livedo reticularis of unknown cause.

Unlike erythema ab igne , livedo reticularis needs warmth as cold temperature usually worsens it.

Treatment of this condition is basically treatment of underlying cause.

Hope I have answered your query. If you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer. Wish you good health.

Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar