Jean Stephanie, Godleski Matthew
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Université de Montréal, Institut de réadaptation Gingras-Lindsay-de-Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J Burn Care Res. 2023 Jan 5;44(1):214-217. doi: 10.1093/jbcr/irac162.
Pemphigus vulgaris is a potentially fatal disease within the epidermis with rare noncutaneous manifestations. Heterotopic ossification has not been previously described as one of the inherent complications of this skin pathology. A 44-year-old man presented with severe pemphigus vulgaris involving 80 to 90% of his body surface area. He had an extended time to wound closure of 5 months, as well as two additional months bed bound due to related infectious and respiratory complications. He progressively developed a worsening range of motion at his bilateral elbows. X-ray demonstrated bilateral anterior elbow heterotopic ossification. Passive and active range of motion exercises were initiated early in the course of his treatment and only yielded a small positive effect. Thus, screening for heterotopic ossification may be warranted when a significant joint range of motion is lost in cases of autoimmune cutaneous disease, and even more in the presence of severe open wounds with delayed wound closure.
