Noduloulcerative or "malignant" syphilis occurring in an otherwise healthy woman: report and review of a dramatic dermatosis.
We present the case of an otherwise healthy woman with noduloulcerative ("malignant") syphilis, the first female patient reported with this dermatosis in fifty years. This rare form of secondary syphilis is characterized by noduloulcerative lesions with rupioid crusts that dramatically involve the face while usually sparing the palms and soles. The aggression and destruction of the skin lesions may mimic that of other granulomatous and infiltrative dermatoses. Since the incidence of syphilis is increasing, physicians should be aware of this variant that is so disfiguring it has historically been referred to as lues maligna.
Held
J L
JL
Department of Dermatology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York.
Ross
M
M
Beltrani
V
V
Kohn
S R
SR
Grossman
M E
ME
D005148:Facial Dermatoses / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013591:Syphilis, Cutaneous / Q000473:pathology