Angiosarcoma of the Breast

Chapter 15 of Volume 3, Skin, Burns & Surgical Principles. Revision notes and examiner-style viva questions with model answers for the FRCS (Plast).

8 viva questions in this chapter

1. A 68-year-old woman is referred with a violaceous patch on the left breast. She had a wide local excision and radiotherapy for a grade 2 invasive ductal carcinoma seven years ago. Her GP has treated her twice for cellulitis. What are you thinking?
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2. How would you establish the diagnosis?
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3. The biopsy confirms a MYC-amplified angiosarcoma. What happens next?
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4. Take me through your surgical plan.
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5. You have a large chest wall defect after a radical resection. How do you reconstruct it?
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6. What is the role of chemotherapy and further radiotherapy?
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7. She says, “So the radiotherapy that was supposed to cure me has given me another cancer?” What do you say?
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8. What do you tell her about prognosis, and how do you follow her up?
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