Eruptive vellus hair cysts

The paper reports the case of a 22-year-old male patient who had presented numerous bilateral aphlegmatic papules on his face and ear's helix, some of which were umbilicated, for the past 5-6 years. Two biopsies revealed a cystic cavity with a dermal localisation surrounded by a squamous-type epithelium. The cysts contained keratinic material and vellus hair shafts cut crosswise. The epidermis did not reveal any alterations, nor was there any inflammatory-type infiltrate in the dermis. On the basis of clinical and histological data non-familial eruptive vellus hair cysts (sporadic form) were diagnosed. The authors take account of the possible differential diagnoses regarding both clinical and histological factors and the response to retinoid therapy used both topically and systemically.