Plantar Corn Caused by Epidermal Cyst

ABSTRACT

Plantar corn is a circumscribed and sharply demarcated hard mass of traumatic hyperkeratosis, which has a central core impacting the dermis deeply and causes pain while walking. The cause of the corn is the mechanical stress to the skin induced by several causative factors; extrinsic(tight shoes) or intrinsic(bony prominence), or combined(the claw toe). We found 7 cases of patients with a painful recurrent plantar corn which had an epidermal cyst under its lesion. These corns and cysts were excised totally and there was no recurrence in all cases during two to four months follow-up period. We think that an epidermal cyst may be another intrinsic factor for the development of a plantar corn. So, an epidermal cyst should be considered once in a recurrent plantar corn to be recalcitrant against popular treatments.