Surgical management after doxorubicin and epirubicin extravasation.

Doxorubicin and epirubicin are strong antineoplastic agents widely used in chemotherapy. One major complication of their use is skin sloughing after subcutaneous extravasation, the degree of which is often underestimated. Both drugs have a tendency to produce liquefying necrosis in soft tissue and chronic ulcers if extravasation occurs. Three cases of extravasation, their surgical treatment and final results are presented. In cases of doxorubicin and epirubicin extravasation it is very important to perform an early extensive surgical débridement with delayed closure to avoid long hospitalization and disabling results.