Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia of the external ear

A Rare Case of Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia With Eosinophilia With a New Effective Treatment

Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE) is a benign locally proliferating lesion of unknown etiology, composed of vascular channels lined by endothelial cells, surrounded by lymphocytes and eosinophils. It presents clinically as a cluster of skin to violaceous-colored nodules on the head and neck, particularly in and around the ear. We present the case of a 50-year-old, Pakistani woman with unilateral multiple nodular lesions for eight years in the left ear concha and postauricular area causing complete obliteration of the external auditory meatus with conductive hearing loss of the left ear for seven years. Biopsy showed lymphoid follicles and dilated blood vessels with mixed infiltrate predominantly eosinophils corresponding to the diagnosis of angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia. Surgical excision was not feasible, and there was no response to topical steroids. The patient was started on beta blockers. After three months, postauricular lesions completely resolved, and the size of the rest of the nodules decreased markedly; then hearing loss also recovered. Our objective in this study is to emphasize the importance of considering beta blockers for the treatment of ALHE.