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DOJ Contents |
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Juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG) of the proximal nail fold
Department of Dermatology - University of Bologna, Italy, bmpiracc@med.unibo.it |
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A 18-month-old white boy presented with a 0.5 mm-large firm nodule, pink-red in color, with a yellow hue and some teleangiectasias on the surface, localized on the right thumbnail. The nodule involved all the proximal nail fold and covered the proximal third of the nail. The cuticle distal to the nodule was hyperkeratotic and the nail plate showed several longitudinal depressions. Pathology showed a dense dermal infiltrate of hystiocytes, some of which with foamy nuclei, and multinucleated Touton giant cells. The lesion progressively decreased in size and completely disappeared after 3 years. Only two other cases of JXG of nail unit have been described in the literature, both arising from the nail bed and producing a subungual nodule that uplifted the nail plate. Our patient had a JXG of the proximal nail fold, causing nail dystrophy due to nail matrix compression and partially covering the nail plate. Periodic follow up was important not only to monitor evolution of the JXG, but also to avoid an excessive growth of the lesion with possible definitive nail matrix damage © 2002 Dermatology Online Journal |