Study of Complications of Ear Piercing / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Ear piercing is widely and easily practiced by medical personnel as well as nonmedical personnel, but it has been associated with many complications. Epidermal cyst may develop after ear piercing and result in permanent deformity of ear. However, there have been few studies to investigate the complications of ear piercing, and especially epidermal cyst. OBJECTIVE: We wanted to evaluate the epidemiology of epidermal cyst that developed due to ear piercing. METHODS: A written questionnaire was distributed to 236 students at Chosun University. It consisted of 17 items concerning the overall evaluation of the complications of ear piercing, the treatments for the complications and the epidemiology of epidermal cyst after ear piercing. RESULTS: Of 236 students included in the survey, 132 students (56%) already had pierced ears. Among them, 80 students (60.6%) experienced one or more complications such as contact dermatitis (41.5%), infection (39.2%), cyst formation (13.7%) and bleeding (5.9%). In 14 students who experienced epidermal cyst after ear piercing, the ratio of male to female patients was 1:3.7 and the mean age when they first underwent ear piercing was 18.7 years. An asymptomatic cystic mass was the most common clinical symptom. Half of them received medical treatment such as dressing (50%), medication (25%), drainage (12.5%) and a surgical procedure (12.5%). CONCLUSION: Our data indicates that ear piercing is not easy and simple, but rather, it is a dangerous procedure due to its frequent complications. Therefore, dermatologists should warn patients about the complications of ear piercing and play a major role to prevent them.

Cutaneous Extraskeletal Osteosarcoma on the Scar of a Previous Bone Graft

Extraskeletal osteosarcoma (ESOS) is a very rare malignant tumor of mesenchymal origin. It is rarer than osseous osteosarcoma and there are very few reports of the skin being a primary site. Most reported cutaneous ESOS were accompanied with metastasis in other organs. A 56-year-old man presented with a painful, 1.5x0.8 cm sized, brown-colored nodule on the right girdle area for 3 months. The histologic findings revealed a tumor that was confined to the dermis without connection to the subcutaneous tissue. In addition, there were large amounts of thin and lace-like bony trabeculae and osteoid with neoplastic cells in a highly pleomorphic sarcomatous stroma.

A Case of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Initially Presented with Disseminated Herpes Zoster

Herpes zoster is characterized by unilateral grouped vesicles along the distribution of a single dermatome. Disseminated herpes zoster usually is defined as a generalized eruption of more than 20 extra-dermatomal vesicles occurring within a week of the onset of classic dermatomal herpes zoster. It occurs chiefly in old or debilitated individuals, and especially in patients with underlying malignancy, immunosuppressive therapy, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. A 51-year-old man presented with segmental grouped vesicles on the left upper trunk and arm, and a varicella-like eruption over the entire body. Tzanck smear preparation and punch biopsy done on the vesicles of the trunk indicated a herpetic infection. Later, he was found to be HIV-positive. We report a rare case of HIV infection initially presenting with disseminated herpes zoster.

Miliary Osteoma Cutis of the Face in Middle-aged Women / 대한피부과학회지

Miliary osteoma cutis of the face is a variant of osteoma cutis, and this malady occurs in middle-aged to older women with or without a previous history of acne vulgaris. Case 1 is a 54-year-old woman who presented with asymptomatic, multiple, 2~3 mm-diameter, skin-colored, firm papules on both cheeks and she'd had these lesions for 10 years. Case 2 is a 61-year-old woman who showed the same type of skin lesions on both cheeks and temporal areas for 10 years. Histopathological examinations for the two cases revealed compact bone formation in the dermis. We report here on 2 rare cases of miliary osteoma cutis of the face.