Development of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener): listen to the patient

Patients with rare or complex conditions may sometimes come up with the right diagnosis because of their previous exposure to the condition. This may be due to their knowledge of their family history or even concerns based on their exposure to information from electronic or paper repositories. In this case report, a 40-year-old woman who already had 1 rare condition of lymphangioleiomyomatosis developed breast "abscesses" that did not respond to traditional surgical debridement and antibiotics. She wondered if the lesions could be related to granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener) as she had a strong family history of this condition. Subsequent investigations confirmed the diagnosis. Her response to treatment was complete. Breast lesions in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener) have been infrequently reported in the literature but should be considered in poorly healing lesions, despite the absence of other more typical symptoms at the time of presentation.