My 3-year-old nephew pointed out something on my 64-year-old mother's hand the other day, and asked her what that brown-brown thing was. I asked my mother if he had located an age-spot (lentigines). She told that she didn't think so because this one felt slightly elevated, kind of "stuck on". Unfortunately, her lesion was about 2 X 2 mm in size and kind of hard to photograph, but I do have another really nice picture of this process.
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| Seborrheic keratosis |
The lesion on my mother's hand was seborrheic keratosis, a benign proliferation of skin cells that is common in individuals over the age of 40. It presents as a brown, slightly raised and well defined plaque with an irregular surface. The appearance is described as either "stuck on" or as "wax drippings". Face, trunk, arms and legs are commonly affected. Usually more than one lesion is present.
Removal by cryotherapy or surgery can be performed for esthetic purposes.
In rare instances, an internal malignancy can lead to formation of numerous lesions of itchy seborrheic keratosis. This is known as the Leser-Trelat sign.
Nicely explained. Pretty sure I have one now that you've explained what they look like. I have two that are right next to my left eye, both brown and maybe just 1x1 mm. There's another one though that's the same size but is the same color as my skin. Is that a seborrheic keratosis too?
ReplyDeleteAlso I love your blog!
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your question and your kind words.
From the size and description of the lesions adjacent to your eye and elsewhere, it appears you're referring to "nevi", moles in the common language. Despite popular belief, moles can be black, blue, red and skin colored. They can be elevated or flat. In contrast to seborrheic keratosis, they tend to have a nice smooth surface (SKs have an irregular surface and they appear as if you've taken a candle and dripped wax on your skin, you feel like you can scrape them off, but don't try to because you can't, not without injury to yourself). Although I have not seen your lesions, my best guess right now is "nevi". I'd be happy to look through pictures if you're curious. You can email them to me through the blog. Maybe my next post can feature those :).