Keratoacanthoma in the cutaneous area of the upper lip: A case report

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to briefly review and discuss the literature about KA and present a case report with a 2-year follow-up of the removal of a KA lesion in the upper lip. Case description: A 53-year-old woman complained of a painless, aesthetically unpleasant brownish, hard lesion in the cutaneous area of the upper lip. The lesion had grown rapidly in the last 30 days (size: ∼10×5 mm), and was associated with a hot waxing hair removal. Surgical excision was the treatment chosen in order to differentiate the lesion from squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). An oval-shaped incision was created with an in-depth wedge shape for the removal of the lesion and better approximation of the edges after synthesis. Histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of KA. After 2 years, the patient was completely satisfied with the treatment, and no scar was evident. Conclusion: Due to the clinical difficulty in differentiating KA from SCC and the risk for formation of an aesthetically unpleasant scar upon spontaneous resolution of KA, surgical removal might be considered the treatment of choice for a solitary KA. Copyright: © 2012 Machado et al.