The Epidemiology of Non-Melanocytic Benign and Malignant Skin Tumors in Pediatric Patients Attending to the Dermatology Department

Pyogenic Granuloma Diagnosis and Management: A Practical Review

Background

Pyogenic granuloma (PG), or lobular capillary hemangioma, poses a clinical challenge with its uncertain etiology and treatment options. Although the clinical features and prevalence of PGs are well established, definitive evidence-based treatments remain elusive. This practical review aims to illuminate the complexities of PG management by analyzing surgical interventions based on literature analysis.

Methods

A PubMed/Medline search of "pyogenic granuloma" and "surgery" yielded 1171 studies. Inclusion criteria targeted intervention-associated PG complications over 5% and treatment modalities, excluding nonclinical studies and topics unrelated to plastic and reconstructive surgery. Screening involved Oxford level of evidence, patient data extraction, complications, intervention types, success rates, sessions, follow-ups, and treatments.

Results

Thirty-one studies met inclusion criteria. Most studies were retrospective (67.7%). Ten studies satisfied intervention-linked eruptions, primarily oculoplastic, whereas 21 investigated both surgical and nonsurgical treatment modalities. Across interventions, 3579 patients (age: 34.2-85.7 years) were involved. Postsurgical PG complications averaged 15.1% and were treated predominantly with surgical excision, achieving nearly complete resolution. Surgical and nonsurgical treatment studies included 1233 patients (age: 3-46.5 years), demonstrating a 68.2% average resolution after a single session, with surgical excision exhibiting the highest success rate (96.2%) and minimal complications.

Conclusions

This practical review highlights the complexities of managing PG, emphasizing a spectrum of effective treatments and potential postoperative complications. Ophthalmologic procedures showed PG incidences of 9%-24.4%. Surgical excision proved highly effective, surpassing methods like lasers and injectables that exhibited varied success rates requiring multiple treatment sessions. Challenges included study diversity and varying evidence levels, warranting further comparative research for PG management strategies.

Nonepithelial Tumors and Tumor-like Lesions of the Skin and Subcutis in Children

This overview of mesenchymal tumors presenting in the skin and/or subcutis in children brings together the range of neoplasms and hamartomas which are seen in this age-group. It is not surprising from the perspective of the pediatric or general surgical pathologist that vascular anomalies, including true neoplasms and vascular malformations, are the common phenotypic category. Since there is considerable morphologic overlap among these lesions, clinicopathologic correlation may be more important than for many of the other mesenchymal tumors. The skin and subcutis are the most common sites of clinical presentation for the infantile myofibroma which is the most common of fibrous mesenchymal tumors in children. Several of the other mesenchymal tumors are more common adults-like dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, but nonetheless have an important presence in children, even as a congenital neoplasm. A lipomatous tumor in a young child should be considered as a possible manifestation of an overgrowth syndrome.