Axillary lymphangioma that developed following COVID-19 vaccination: a case report

BACKGROUND: Extensive vaccination programs are being implemented worldwide for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). With the spread of vaccination, swelling of the lymph nodes after vaccination is frequently seen. We encountered a patient who developed left axillary lymphadenoma following vaccine administration. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient was a Japanese woman in her 80 s who had previously undergone surgery for right breast cancer. She received two injections of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in her left arm. Approximately 3 months later, she complained of left axillary swelling, and imaging resulted in a diagnosis of left axillary lymphangioma. In accordance with the patient’s wishes, we performed axillary mass resection. The pathological diagnosis was lymphangioma. CONCLUSION: Our examination findings indicated that congestion of the axillary lymph vessels might have been caused by upper-arm injections of the COVID-19 vaccine.