Dear Fiona.

On the issue of why she repeatedly gets abscesses -- esp. if underlying
disease has been ruled out, could  it be that so much trauma to the same
area has made normal lymphatic drainage so problematical that she
essentially keeps "clogging."  I wonder what something like a massage
therapy such as  manual lymphatic drainage would do to the healing process?
I know that women who have recently had mastectomies, or patients recovering
from amputation often go to lymphadema clinics for such massage with good
effect.

Also,  I read an article recently on Medscape page by an MD named Goh,  from
Univ. of Singapore, National Skin Center, which looked at types of skin
problems in women.( Article ID. wh3076.)  He makes the statement that some
skin diseases are seen in association with or are aggravated by pregnancy,
and that others are more frequently seen during the perimenstrual period.
(which I am sure you already know.)  He states:  "The hormonal effects of
increased cutaneous vascularity, seborrhea, and dermal edema during the
perimenstrual period may account for the increase in the severity
of...diseases [of the skin]."

 One condition which interested me was a type of autoimmune progesterone
dermatitis. He states that it has "no classic morphologic or histologic
features."  It is characertized by:  "dermatitis, erythema multiforme,
urticaria, vesicular lesions, stomatitis, herpes-like dermatitis, and
papular lesions...It usually presents during early adult life, and the
disease may periodically go into spontaneous remission....These eruptions
usually flare up during the latter half of the penstrual cycle, peaking
premenstrually, and resolving within a few days of menses. This disease may
become worse during pregnancy. " If this woman had such an issue, it might
be particularly problematic in trying to heal from such a deep wound.  The
cyclical nature of this problem may be a tip off that it is, as you suspect,
connected with something hormonal.

He also mentions lupus, but I assume that would show up in histologic studies.

I would be most interested to know what happens in this case.

Barbara

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC
Private Practice, Austin, Texas
Owner, Lactnews On-Line Conference Page
http://moontower.com/bwc/lactnews.html