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.
