Benign Skin Lesions Flashcards
what are benign skin lesions?
Seborrhoeic keratoses
Viral warts
Cysts
Dermatofibroma
Lipoma
Vascular lesions
what ar premalignant skin lesions?
Bowens disease
Actinic Keratoses
Melanoma in situ
benign lesions
Are Seborrhoeic Keratoses benign or maligant?
benign but commonly referred?
what are Seborrhoeic Keratoses?
They are benign growths due to a build-up of skin cells
Warty growths, “stuck on appearance”
Can have variable appearance
Patients often have multiple +/- cherry angiomas
what is the treatment of Seborrhoeic Keratoses?
• Generally left untreated, but if troublesome
- Cryotherapy
- Curettage
what is cryrotherapy?
Liquid nitrogen
Cryotherapy is the use of low temperatures in medical therapy. Cryotherapy may be used to treat a variety of tissue lesions
what are the pros of Cryotherapy?
Cheap
Easy to perform “on the day”
what are the cons of Cryotherapy?
Can scar
Failure/Recurrence
No pathology result
what is and what are the signs of Leser-Trelat?
Paraneoplastic phenomenon
Abrupt onset of widespread seborrhoeic keratosis, particularly in a younger individual
SKs remain benign but may indicate underlying solid organ malignancy - GI adenocarcinoma
what are viral warts and what causes them?
- Due to Human Papilloma Virus
- Rough hyperkeratotic surface
what is the treatment of viral warts?
- Difficult to treat - Do we need to treat at all?
- Will clear when immunity developed to virus
- Cryotherapy or wart paints can stimulate immune system slightly
- Can curette in severe cases - surgical instrument designed for scraping or debriding biological tissue or debris in a biopsy, excision, or cleaning procedure
what are cysts?
- Encapsulated lesion containing fluid or semi-fluid material
- Usually firm and fluctuant
are cysts common or rare?
Common
Affect ~20% adults
multiple different types of cysts exist, what are they?
- Epidermoid cyst (often wrongly called sebaceous)
- Pilar cyst
- Steatocystoma
- Dermoid cyst
- Hidrocystoma
- Ganglion cyst
what can happen tocysts which is dangerous?
- Can rupture and cause inflammation of surround skin
- May become secondary infected
what is the treatment of cysts?
- Treated with excision
- If inflammed/infected
- Antibiotics
- Intralesional steroid
- Incision & Drainage
what is a Dermatofibroma?
- Benign fibrous nodule, often on limbs - Proliferation of fibroblasts
- Firm nodule, tethered to skin but mobile over fat. Pale pink/brown. Often paler in centre.
- Dimple sign positive
what cause dermatofibromas?
Cause is unknown. They are sometimes attributed to an area of trauma
what are the symptoms and treatments of a dermatofibroma?
Usually asymptomatic. Can be itchy or tender
Excision if concern or symptomatic.
what is a lipoma, what causes it and is it common or rare?
- Benign tumour consisting of fat cells
- Common
- Cause unknown
- Smooth and rubbery subcutaneous mass
benign tumor made of fat tissue, usually occur jsut under the skin
what are the symptoms of a lipoma?
- Usually asymptomatic
- If tender:
- ?angiolipoma
- ?Liposarcoma – rare malignancy
what is an angioma?
Angiomas are benign tumors derived from cells of the vascular or lymphatic vessel walls (endothelium) or derived from cells of the tissues surrounding these vessels
Overgrowth of blood vessels in the skin due to proliferating endothelial cells
It is a vascular lesion
what are the symptoms of an angioma?
Generally asymptomatic. Can be unsightly or bleed
