Pilomatrixoma of the head and neck in children

Review of pediatric head and neck pilomatrixoma

INTRODUCTION

Pilomatrixoma is a benign skin tumor, which is commonly found in the head and neck region. It usually presents as an isolated lesion and rarely undergoes malignant transformation. It is not uncommon for these tumors to be misdiagnosed.

OBJECTIVE

To review the clinical characteristics of head and neck pilomatrixomas in the pediatric population.

METHODS

A systematic review was completed by searching ten databases to identify studies reporting findings on pilomatrixoma in the pediatric population. Eligible articles were independently assessed for quality by two authors.

RESULTS

A total of 17 studies met the inclusion criteria totaling 318 pediatric patients. The age of diagnosis ranged from 3 months to 17 years of age. The female to male ratio was 1.65:1. In 14 articles, in which pilomatrixoma was located in the head and neck region, 76 (25%) lesions were found in the neck while 229 (75%) were present in the head region. Three articles exclusively described ophthalmologic pilomatrixoma. Even though pilomatrixoma presents with classical features, the clinical diagnostic accuracy when confronting this lesion averaged 43%. The definitive treatment was surgical excision with a very low recurrence rate.

CONCLUSION

Head and neck pilomatrixoma in the pediatric population has a typical presentation with a low clinical diagnostic accuracy. Awareness of this lesion and its clinical appearance can improve its diagnosis. We hereby suggest a management algorithm for suspected pilomatrixoma.

Pilomatrixoma: a diagnostic pitfall in fine-needle aspiration biopsies. A review from a small county hospital

A 10-year-old Hispanic girl presented with a 3-cm mass over her right parotid region. A fine-needle aspiration (FNA) was performed and the preliminary and final diagnoses were "suspicious for carcinoma, possible mucoepidermoid carcinoma." A subsequent computed tomography demonstrated an extra-parotid lesion attached to the skin. The FNA smears were reviewed and the diagnosis of a pilomatrixoma (PMT) was reached. The lesion was excised and the diagnosis of benign PMT confirmed. Pilomatrixomas are uncommon skin adnexal tumors most commonly found in the head and neck area of young adults and children. In 10 years there were 16 PMTs among 60,280 surgical pathology specimens in the pathology files of our 300-bed general county hospital. Pilomatrixoma is recognized as a diagnostic pitfall not only clinically but also on FNA cytology. On the physical examination, the bluish skin discoloration over the lesion so typical of PMT was overlooked. On FNA, the basaloid cells of PMT were mistaken for intermediate cells of mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The presence of anucleated squames was not properly recognized. These are usually absent in mucoepidermoid carcinoma and represent a hallmark of PMT. This case illustrates well the risk of misdiagnosing a pre-auricular PMT as a malignant tumor of the parotid gland.

Pilomatrixoma:

Pilomatrixoma, also known as calcifying epithelioma of Malherbe, is a benign skin neoplasm that arises from hair follicle matrix cells. Pilomatrixoma is a common skin neoplasm in the pediatric population that is often misdiagnosed as other skin conditions. This study reviews an 11-year experience at a tertiary children's hospital, examining the cause, clinical and histopathological presentation, management, and treatment outcomes of pilomatrixoma. A review of the pathology database at Children's Hospital Los Angeles revealed 346 pilomatrixomas excised from 336 patients between 1991 and 2001. The hospital charts, pathology records, and plastic surgery clinic charts were reviewed with respect to variables such as sex, age at the time of presentation, clinical and histopathological presentation, preoperative diagnosis, management, recurrence, and treatment outcome. The main presenting symptom was a hard, subcutaneous, slowly growing mass. The preoperative diagnosis was accurate and consistent with the pathological diagnosis of pilomatrixoma in only 100 cases (28.9 percent). This entity should be considered with other benign or malignant conditions in the clinical differential diagnosis of solitary firm skin nodules, especially those on the head, neck, or upper limbs. The diagnosis can generally be made with a clinical examination. Imaging studies are not required unless symptoms or the location of the lesion warrants such diagnostic assessments. The treatment of choice is surgical excision, and the recurrence rate is low.

Head and neck pilomatricoma in the pediatric age group: a retrospective study and literature review

OBJECTIVE

To discuss the clinical course and management of pilomatricoma involving the head and neck in the pediatric age group and to review the literature.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of the author's case files between the years of 1996 and 2000, revealed seven cases of head and neck pilomatricoma involving children. A literature review was employed to compare this study to others.

RESULTS

In all cases, the presenting sign was a superficially located rock-hard mass in the head and neck. The mean duration the mass was present at the initial otolaryngologic evaluation was 11 months. There was a total of seven patients of which five (71%) were female while two (29%) were male. Each patient presented with a single pilomatricoma. Five (71%) occurred in the neck while two (29%) occurred in the face. All were treated with surgical excision. There were no recurrences.

CONCLUSION

Pilomatricoma is a rare, benign, skin neoplasm that is superficially located and most commonly occurs in the head and neck, thus otolaryngologists should be aware of its clinical presentation. Although malignant transformation has been described, it is exceedingly rare. Diagnosis is usually suspected based on palpation of a superficial, rock-hard mass and confirmed by histopathologic examination. Since this neoplasm doesn't spontaneously regress, surgical excision is both curative and the treatment of choice. Recurrence is rare.

Surgical Excision of Pilomatrixoma of the Head and Neck: A Retrospective Review of 26 Cases

The objective of this article is to describe our experiences in treating patients for head and neck pilomatrixoma at our institution during a 5-year period and to compare our findings with previously published results. To that end, we conducted a 5-year retrospective chart review to identify those patients who had a confirmed histopathologic diagnosis of pilomatrixoma involving the head and neck area. We reviewed medical records for presenting signs and symptoms, lesion characteristics, treatment rendered, and outcomes.

We identified 26 patients, aged 6 to 77 (mean: 33), who met the criteria for inclusion in our study. All had been treated for solitary tumors with simple surgical excision and closure. We found no reported adverse outcomes and no tumor recurrences at the surgical sites. These findings support the use of simple surgical excision as the treatment of choice for these tumors.

Multiple occurrence of pilomatrixoma

Multiple occurrences of pilomatrixoma are rare. Although it has been known as a benign lesion, there are reports of some tumors that have histopathologic features of malignancy. A case of a 68-year-old Caucasian women with multiple pilomatrixoma is presented. She was operated on to remove three other pilomatrixomas on the arms 3 years after the initial excision from the face. Two years after excision of the lesions on the arms, no recurrences were evident.

Pilomatrixoma of the external auditory meatus

Pilomatrixoma is a benign skin tumour arising from the outer hair root matrix. It is an uncommon tumour which favours the hair bearing area of the head and neck. The preauricular area is a well documented site, but to our knowledge, there are no reports of a pilomatrixoma arising in the external auditory meatus. We present such a case and discuss the historical background along with its pathological and clinical features.

Tricholemmal cysts of the head and neck

PURPOSE

Tricholemmal cysts, sometimes termed pilomatrixomas, are benign skin neoplasms. This study was undertaken to evaluate the clinical experience with management of pilomatrixomas at a large, referral-based university hospital.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The records of patients treated at the UCLA Medical Center were reviewed retrospectively. Patients treated during the years 1966 to 1991 inclusive were reviewed for details of the clinical course. All pathology slides were confirmed histologically.

RESULTS

Pilomatrixoma was confirmed in 53 patients. Of these, 29 patients (55%) had pilomatrixoma isolated to the head and neck region. All were treated with surgical excision. One patient (3%) experienced recurrence due to inadequate initial excision. Subsequent re-excision resulted in a cure.

CONCLUSION

Tricholemmal cysts present as solitary, painless, slow-growing cutaneous nodules often resulting in discoloration of the overlying skin. Simple excision cures this benign neoplasm, and recurrences are rare. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy may aid in the diagnostic workup.

Preauricular pilomatrixoma: a diagnostic pitfall

Although pilomatrixomas are well known to dermatologists and dermatopathologists, surgeons encountering these lesions over the parotid gland frequently do not consider this benign neoplasm in the differential diagnosis. Presentation of a subcutaneous preauricular lesion, coupled with an erroneous cytologic diagnosis of malignancy, can potentially result in histologic "overdiagnosis" and more aggressive therapy than is required for these benign hair follicle neoplasms. A case is reported to illustrate this potential diagnostic trap, and a series of 206 cases collected at the University Hospital of Zurich from 1975 to 1987 is reviewed.