Keratoacanthoma - Information on Keratoacanthoma

Keratoacanthoma Information

Keratoacanthoma is basically a skin disease typical to youth, but Keratoacanthoma may occur to the people at any age. Keratoacanthoma is a skin disorder that can be recognized by its round and firm appearance. Many times it is red, or pink, usually flesh colored, as seen in the picture above. They have a center that contains keratin.

We have provided you here all symptoms, causes and treatment methods of Keratoacanthoma. Keratocanthomas usually appear on the face, forearms, back of the hands, and on the legs. Keratoacanthomas can at times resemble some other forms of skin cancers, so it is important to have it checked out.

Causes of Keratoacanthoma

The cause of the Keratoacanthoma is unknown. Keratocanthomas occur when cells in hair follicles grow abnormally. It seems to be connected to a site of a previous injury or trauma to the skin. This could be either a bump, bruise or scrape in the area that had been previously exposed to the sun.

Treatment of Keratoacanthoma

Keratoacanthoma treatment includes following treatment procedures:

Keratoacanthoma should be treated as there is very similarity between it and a true skin cancer, i .e squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), or less commonly like a basal cell carcinoma (BCC).

• Freezing If a keratoacanthoma is small it may be treated by freezing with liquid nitrogen with a spray or on a cotton wool swab. Following this the treated site will swell, may or may not blister, then dries out to form a scab which takes about 2 weeks to come off, longer on the limbs.
• Curettage and cautery Curettage and cautery is sometimes used for thicker lesions. A little anaesthetic is injected around the base of the lesion and it is then scraped out with a sharp spoon. The base of the keratoacanthoma is cauterized with an instrument similar to a soldering iron. Following this healing is usually rapid and the scab comes off in about 3 weeks to leave a slightly depressed, pink to purple scar. This scar then pales down and remodels to eventually leave a usually very acceptable cosmetic result. Healing takes longer with larger lesions and on the lower legs where it can take up to 2 months.
• Excision Excision is another common method of removing a keratoacanthomas. After injecting local anaesthetic, the affected area is cut out in an ellipse ensuring complete removal. The resulting defect is then stitched up. The stitches are removed a week or so later, leaving a linear scar. Rarely, Mohs microscopically controlled surgery may be required for larger keratoacanthomas, especially if they have recurred.
• Radiotherapy - Sometimes a large keratoacanthoma is treated by radiotherapy . Several visits over a period of days are usually required. The treatment is quite painless. A scab then forms and drops off after several weeks.