Cutaneous collagenous vasculopathy: ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study of a new case.

Cutaneous collagenous vasculopathy is a very rare entity first described in 2000, manifesting clinically with acquired, progressively diffuse, cutaneous telangiectases with a histologically distinct aspect, characterized by a thick hyaline collagenous wall. Its cause is unknown. Differential diagnosis includes mainly generalized essential telangiectasia and telangiectatic mastocytosis. We report a 65-year-old Caucasian patient who presented with progressive telangiectasia starting over the lower limbs that spread progressively upwards. Histopathologic (light and electron microscopic) examinations were typical of cutaneous collagenous vasculopathy. We review the salient clinicopathologic features of this poorly known condition.