A Rapid Growing Giant Cutaneous Horn from Burn Scar: A Case Report

ABSTRACT

A giant cutaneous horn (GCH) is a morphological description of huge, conical, dense, hyperkeratotic protrusion. Because of its bizarre shape and associated risk of malignancy, GCH requires proper treatment. A 48-year-old male patient visited our department with a GCH on a burn scar of his right hand. It had started to develop about 8 months previously. At initial physical examination, the lesion presented as a hard, dark brown mass of basal area 4×3.5 cm², and height 3.5 cm. Preoperative biopsy confirmed the absence of malignancy. We performed excision of the entire GCH, and biopsy and repaired the resulting defect with full-thickness skin graft. Histopathologic results revealed that all surgical margin were negative for malignancy. Microscopically, the lesion exhibited marked regular acanthosis, parakeratosis and hyperkeratosis with granular layer loss. At 3 months postoperatively, no complication was observed. According to Mantese et al., 58.56% of GCHs originate from malignant or premalignant lesions. And thus, a histopathologic examination is mandatory, and if an accompanying malignant lesion is found, additional resection should be undertaken. In another study, it was concluded the risk of premalignancy or malignancy depends on development time. In our case, the GCH had grown from a burn scar, this has not been previously reported in Korea. Surgeons need to be aware cutaneous horn harbors risks of premalignancy or malignancy, and that histopathological evaluation is indispensable for treatment decision making.