Nevus of the sebaceous glands is a neoplasm that is congenital in 7 out of 10 cases. It manifests itself quickly enough, from the first days you can determine it. In some cases, nevus can be noticed during the first few years of a child’s life. The place of localization is most often the head (edge of the hairline), face and very rarely other parts of the body.
general information
Unfortunately, modern medicine still cannot accurately study all the causes of the appearance of nevus. In most cases, this education is not considered to be something dangerous, but if no measures are taken, then a complication may occur over time. Below is a photo of the nevus of the sebaceous gland.
The sebaceous nevus is large, in diameter it can reach 6 centimeters. Its surface is hilly, painted yellow. In the place where the nevus of the sebaceous glands on the head is located, the hairline is absent.
When the baby was just born, and he immediately has this neoplasm, then initially it looks like a small speck, which begins to grow over time. After a while, the stain turns into a small wart. In the vast majority of cases, this unpleasant growth appears on the scalp. Such neoplasm may also appear on other parts of the body, but much less frequently.
Stages of education
Nevus of the sebaceous glands in children has three stages of education:
- Infant age. The surface of the neoplasm is smooth with small papillae. There is no hairline in this place. Nevus of the sebaceous glands in newborns does not rise above the skin.
- Adolescence. Small papules form on the skin, which look very similar to warts. They have a yellow or orange tint. Located very close to each other.
- Youthful period. At this age, the disease is very dangerous, since there is a high risk that the tumor can degenerate into a cancerous tumor. At this stage, the sebaceous nevus should be under the supervision of a dermatologist.
Why does nevus arise
Most scientists suggest that the main cause of nevus of the sebaceous glands is their hyperplasia. Due to pathological proliferation of tissues, enhanced abnormal cell division of the epidermis, hair follicles and apocrine gland occurs, and due to this, a nevus is formed.
What can cause degeneration of the nevus
To the delight of many people, nevus rarely does much harm to a person, but there are still exceptions, and a harmless neoplasm can turn into a malignant tumor. Factors that can provoke such a rebirth:
- Genetic predisposition. A disease such as nevus of the sebaceous glands on the head of a child can be transmitted from parents at the genetic level. The risk of malignancy of the nevus increases if an ailment is present in one of the family members.
- Pathology of cell development. A significant increase in the number of sebaceous gland cells ultimately leads to hyperplasia. Plaques fuse together and large warts form.
- Chronic diseases For example, if inflammatory processes occur in the digestive tract, this may contribute to the fact that the harmless sebaceous nevus degenerates into a malignant tumor.
- External factors. If the patient received radiation or thermal burns, is constantly under the scorching sun, then this can provoke degeneration of the nevus. Also, the negative effect of toxic substances can contribute to this pathological process.
Epidemiology
Nevus of the sebaceous glands on the face or on the head most often begins to develop in the womb. But it can also occur a little later in childhood or in adolescents. The disease is not related to the gender of the child, the ailment can appear in both boys and girls. By inheritance, the disease is not often transmitted. Most often, the disease is congenital, and its development has two stages: infantile and prepubertal - primary school age, and puberty - adolescence.
Symptoms and course
In most cases, no symptoms are manifested. Only in a few percent of cases, the neoplasm is accompanied by disorders of the central nervous system or deviations in the structure of the body.
The speed of development of the nevus is quite slow, the formation minimally increases in diameter and begins to rise above the skin. In one case out of ten, small ulcers and nodules begin to appear. Sebaceous nevi are much more often converted into trichoblastomas or syringocystadenomas.
Risk of complications
The nevus of the sebaceous glands degenerates into malignant neoplasms quite rarely. According to statistics, in 15% of all cases, seborrheic nevus disease can degenerate into basal cell cancer. Epithelial adenoma (benign formation) develops quite rarely. Sometimes illnesses such as rhinophyma and blepharitis can accompany diseases.
The most dangerous of all these complications is, of course, basal cell carcinoma. This malignant neoplasm begins to develop in people after the age of 40 years. Very often, various injuries of the nevi become a provocateur of rebirth. Therefore, if a person has such an ailment, then he should be treated with extreme caution so as not to damage it in any way. Due to the fact that the nevus is often located on the scalp, trauma can occur during combing.
Diagnosis of the disease
When a patient visits a medical institution, the doctor first draws attention to the patient’s age, asks whether relatives had such a thing, and also when the neoplasm appeared. Examining the patient externally, the doctor can only make a preliminary diagnosis.
More accurately diagnose the disease will help laboratory tests. With their help, it will be possible to determine whether the disease is a solid mast cell, aplasia of the dermis or, in the worst case, skin cancer.
Also, to make a more accurate diagnosis, histology is performed. With its help, it is possible to more accurately determine the peculiarity of the formation that appeared on the skin integument and the depth of the epidermal lesion. In order to prevent the development of a cancerous tumor, an atypical analysis of the cells is done.
If necessary, the doctor takes a smear from the fluid formation. This helps to determine the risk of nevus degeneration. But with this method of research, as with histology, tissue injury occurs.
Treatment methods
After the diagnosis, the recommendations of the attending physician should be strictly adhered to. In no case should you self-medicate or try to get rid of the neoplasm yourself, this can have very bad consequences - the nevus can degenerate into a cancerous tumor.
Education should be removed only at a medical institution and at an age until puberty has occurred.
There are three ways to remove the sebaceous nevus:
- surgical removal;
- excision with an electric knife;
- destruction with liquid nitrogen.
As a rule, the removal procedure is carried out in oncology centers under the supervision of an oncologist and a dermatologist. A piece of removed tissue is sent without fail for histological examination.
If atypical cells were detected as a result, then a repeated diagnosis is usually done to detect the presence of metastases in other organs and on the face.
The most effective is the surgical removal method. With other methods, the sebaceous nevus may reappear.
During surgery, a neoplasm is excised. If it is not possible to remove the nevus at a time, then damaged skin is removed in stages. Breaks between operations should be kept to a minimum. It often becomes difficult to perform an operation due to the location of the pathology.
Surgical intervention can be performed both under local anesthesia and under general anesthesia. Which anesthesia to choose, the doctor decides. It depends on the age of the patient, as well as on the location and size of education. After excision of the nevus, the wound is sutured. If it was large and in a conspicuous place, a skin transplant is done.
A sterile dressing is applied to the sutures. Dressings are done every day for a week, while the wound is treated with antiseptic agents. After wound healing, sutures are removed.
Prevention and prognosis
How to make sure that the sebaceous nevus does not appear at all, no one knows. It is better to delete it even in childhood (up to 12 years) or when the child is still very small. Surgical removal never gives a relapse.
The prognosis is most often favorable. According to statistics, only 10% of patients develop basal cell carcinoma. The degeneration into a malignant formation occurs even less frequently.