Nevus of the sebaceous glands is a neoplasm, which in 7 out of 10 cases is congenital. It manifests itself quickly enough, already from the first days you can determine it. In some cases, a nevus may be noticed during the first few years of a child's life. The localization site is most often the head (the edge of the hairline), the 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 a nevus. In most cases, this formation is not considered something dangerous, but if no measures are taken, then a complication may occur over time. Below is a photo of a nevus of the sebaceous gland.
The sebaceous nevus is large in size, it can reach 6 centimeters in diameter. Its surface is bumpy, painted yellow. In the place where the nevus of the sebaceous glands on the head is located, there is no hairline.
When the baby was just born, and he immediately has this neoplasm, then initially it looks like a small speck,which grows over time. After a while, the spot turns into a small wart. In the vast majority of cases, this unpleasant growth appears on the scalp. Such a neoplasm may also appear on other parts of the body, but much less frequently.
Stages of education
Nevus of sebaceous glands in children has three stages of formation:
- Infancy. The surface of the neoplasm is smooth with small papillae. There is no hair in this place. The nevus of the sebaceous glands in newborns does not rise above the skin.
- Adolescence. Papules of small sizes are formed on the skin, which look very similar to warts. They are yellow or orange in color. Very close to each other.
- Youth period. At this age, the disease is very dangerous, since there is a high risk that the neoplasm can degenerate into a cancerous tumor. At this stage, the sebaceous nevus should be under the supervision of a specialist dermatologist.
Why does a nevus occur
Most scientists suggest that the main cause of nevus sebaceous glands is their hyperplasia. Due to pathological tissue growth, there is an increased abnormal division of epidermal cells, hair follicles and apocrine glands, and due to this, a nevus is formed.
What can cause the rebirth of a nevus
To the delight of many people, a nevus rarely brings a lot of harm to a person, but there are still exceptions, and harmlessneoplasm can turn into a malignant tumor. Factors that can provoke such a rebirth:
- Genetic predisposition. A disease such as nevus sebaceous glands on the head of a child can be transmitted from parents at the genetic level. The risk of malingization of the nevus increases if the disease is present in one of the family members.
- Pathology of cell development. A significant increase in the number of sebaceous gland cells eventually leads to hyperplasia. The plaques grow together and large warts form.
- Chronic diseases. For example, if inflammatory processes occur in the digestive tract, this can contribute to the fact that a harmless sebaceous nevus degenerates into a malignant tumor.
- External factors. If the patient has received radiation or thermal burns, is constantly under the scorching sun, then this can provoke the degeneration of the nevus. Also, this pathological process can be facilitated by the negative impact of toxic substances.
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 sex of the child, the disease can appear in both boys and girls. The disease is not often inherited. Most often, the disease is congenital, and its development has two stages: infantile andprepubertal - primary school age, and puberty - adolescence.
Symptoms and course
In most cases, there are no symptoms. Only in a few percent of cases, the neoplasm is accompanied by disorders of the central nervous system or abnormalities in the structure of the body.
The rate of development of the nevus is rather 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 likely to transform into trichoblastomas or syringocystadenomas.
Risk of complications
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 carcinoma. Epithelial adenoma (benign formation) develops quite rarely. Sometimes diseases can be accompanied by ailments such as rhinophyma and blepharitis.
The most dangerous of all these complications is, of course, basal cell carcinoma. This malignant neoplasm begins to develop in people over the age of 40 years. Very often, various kinds of injuries of 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 harm him in any way. Due to the fact that the nevus is often located on the scalp, it can be traumatized while combing the hair.
Diagnosisdisease
When a patient visits a medical institution, the doctor first of all pays attention to the age of the patient, asks if relatives had this, and also when the neoplasm appeared. Examining the patient externally, the doctor can only make a preliminary diagnosis.
Laboratory studies will help diagnose the disease more accurately. With their help, it will be possible to determine whether the disease is a solidary mastocytoma, dermal aplasia or, in the worst case, skin cancer.
Also, a histology is performed to make a more accurate diagnosis. With its help, it is possible to more accurately determine the peculiarity of the formation that appeared on the skin and the depth of the lesion of the epidermis. To prevent the development of a cancerous tumor, an analysis is made for atypical cells.
If necessary, the doctor takes a swab from the formation fluid. This helps to determine the risk of nevus degeneration. But with this method of research, as with histology, tissue injury occurs.
Treatments
After making a diagnosis, you should strictly follow the recommendations of your doctor. In no case should you self-medicate or try to get rid of the neoplasm on your own, this can have very bad consequences - the nevus can degenerate into a cancerous tumor.
Education should be removed only in a medical facility and at the age before puberty has set in.
There are three ways to remove a sebaceous nevus:
- surgical removal;
- electroknife excision;
- 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 the removed tissue must be sent for histological examination.
If atypical cells were found as a result, then re-diagnosis is usually done to detect the presence of metastases in other organs and on the face.
The most effective is the surgical method of removal. With other methods, the reappearance of the sebaceous nevus is possible.
During surgery, the neoplasm is excised. If it is not possible to remove the nevus at a time, then the damaged skin is removed in stages. Breaks between operations should be minimal. It often becomes difficult to perform the operation due to the location of the pathology.
Surgery can be performed under either local anesthesia or 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 the formation. After excision of the nevus, the wound is sutured. If it was large and in a prominent place, a skin graft is done.
A sterile bandage is applied over the sutures. Dressings are done every day for a week, while the wound is treated with antiseptic agents. After the wound has healed, the sutures are removed.
Prevention and prognosis
Howto make sure that the sebaceous nevus does not appear at all, no one knows. It is better to remove it even in childhood (up to 12 years old) or when the child is still very small. Surgical removal never recurs.
The prognosis is most often favorable. According to statistics, only 10% of patients develop basalioma. Malignant transformation is even rarer.
