We report the case of a rare angiosarcoma, retiform haemangioendothelioma, in an 18-year-old young man, which presented as a recurrent ulcerating lesion of the left pinna.

Case report and literature review of retiform haemangioendothelioma. This is a low grade angiosarcoma with a high local recurrence rate and low metastasis rate, and was first described in 1994 by Calonje et al.

This patient represents only the third report of lymph node metastasis in a case of retiform haemangioendothelioma. To date, 31 cases of the tumour have been reported. Histological diagnosis of this group of vascular neoplasms can be challenging, as their histopathological appearance is intermediate between haemangioma and angiosarcoma.

Surgical excision remains the primary treatment modality, with adjuvant radiotherapy recommended in patients with large tumour size, local recurrence and lymph node metastasis, as seen in this case.

To describe a new treatment for perichondritis and haematoma of the pinna. At present, the existing treatment for these conditions is initially medical (which usually fails), followed by surgery (incision, drainage and compression to prevent recurrence) with accompanying medical management. However, the result is often a failure, resulting in partial or complete ‘cauliflower ear’ deformity.

The described treatment involves draining the site of infection and irrigating with streptomycin solution. The cavity is then filled with a solution of streptomycin, hyaluronidase and triamcinolone.

The described treatment avoids the conventional surgical procedure, which is cumbersome for surgeons and harrowingly painful for patients.

The new treatment may be recommended for universal use.