Dermatitis artefacta presenting as a basal cell carcinoma—an important clinical sign missed
- Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre, City Hospital NHS Trust, Dudley Road, Birmingham B3 2NS
- Mr Aidan Murray.
- Accepted 27 August 1997
Editor,—Dermatitis artefacta has not previously been reported presenting as a masquerade syndrome for basal cell carcinoma of the eyelid. We describe a patient who presented with a “typical” basal cell carcinoma of the lower eyelid, in whom the diagnosis only became apparent following its surgical excision.
CASE REPORT
A 43 year old right handed woman was referred by her general practitioner complaining of a 6 month history of a lesion on her left lower eyelid which had been increasing in size, and she had developed a red sticky eye. She had no ophthalmological history of note; however, she had previously worked in a beauty clinic and had used the sunbeds there with great regularity. She had a medical history of diverticular disease, anxiety, and was under investigation by a cardiologist for ectopic heart beats.
On examination she had a lesion which appeared typical of a basal cell carcinoma of her left lower eyelid with rolled edges, notching of the lid margin, and infiltration …
