13. Benign Skin Lesions Flashcards
Outline warts
Harmless growths of the skins caused by HPV
Types = common, flat, plantar and palmar, filiform, periungual
Mx (only if painful/cosmetic) =
- disappear spontaneously
- salicylic acid
- liquid nitrogen
- electrocautery
- excising
- laser removal
What is an epidermoid cyst?
Benign cyst usually found on the skin
- devel out of ectodermal tissue (squamous ep)
- usually on parts of the body with relatively little hair
- Ae = trauma, surgery, blocked pore adjacent to a body piercing
Definitive Dx by excision
Mx = surgical resection
What is a pilar cyst?
Cyst that forms from a hair follicle, filled with keratin
Rarely they grow and form trichilemmal tumours, rarely become Ca
S+S = smooth, mobile, commonly on scalp
Mx = surgical resection
Describe seborrheic keratosis
Non-cancerous (benign) skin tumour in top layers of epidermis
- more common in old people
- often come in association with other skin conditions, including BCC
S+S = brown, black, light tan, “stuck on” appearance, horny pearls or cysts embedded, common on face/trunk
Mx = none necessary, except for aesthetic reasons
What is a dermatofibroma?
Proliferation of fibroblasts and histiocytes in the dermis
Hard solitary slow-growing benign fibrous papules
- commonly occur is 20 to 45 years
S+S = brown to tan, often elevated or pedunculated, dimple sign, little or no discomfort, itching and tenderness can be present, most commonly arms/legs
Mx = leave alone, intra-lesional steroid injections, cryotherapy
What is a lipoma?
Benign tumour made of fat tissue - sub cut
RF = FH, obesity, lack of exercise
S+S = generally soft to touch, movable, painless, commonly upper back, shoulders, abdo,
Mx = observation (unless they become painful or restrict movement), surgical excision
What are melanocytic naevi?
Start in puberty, early life
3 classes =
- Junctional: confined to base of epidermis, flat
- Compound: epidermis and dermis
- Intradermal: entirely in dermis, little pigment
Blue naevus = pigment is deep in dermis
Halo = pigment, with hypopigmented region surrounding
Congenital = present since birth, hair, become thicker
Outline some possible red lesions that are benign in nature
Angioma (campbell de Morgan) - solitary, no Tx unless cosmetic
Pyogenic granuloma - lobular proliferation of blood vessels, localised trauma can acts as trigger, most <5y, curettage + cautery
Capillary haemangioma (strawberry naevus) - devel in first few days of life, nearly all resolve in several years
