Dermatosis Papulosa Nigra (DPN) is the fancy medical name given to the common mole-like lesions that are seen more frequently on the face and neck of pigmented skin individuals. They appear as smooth, firm, black or dark brown lesions, flattened or pendulous.They are most commonly seen in the black population, but can also be seen in fair-skinned people and in some Asians. These mole-like lesions are benign, meaning that they are not cancerous and have not been shown to cause sicknesses or death.
Cosmetically, they are unwanted by most individuals and vary in size, but usually remain as multiple small, hyper-pigmented, asymptomatic (no associated bleeding) irritations or swellings of the lesions to the face around the cheek area or neck. DPN usually begins to occur during the adolescent or pubescent stages of life, and as people age, more can pop up, sometimes on the upper chest and upper back areas as well, with an increase in size. DPN is a genetic trait occurring in 35 percent to 50 percent of families, thus increasing the chances of an individual of those family lines developing it.
They are seen more in females than in males, during pregnancy and they can present with the sometimes progressive darkening of the skin around the neck as weight is put on. The prognosis of DPN is excellent seeing that they are not malignant. The likelihood of them spontaneously resolving or regressing on their own is highly unlikely. Once there, they are not going anywhere. Normally, once seen by a dermatologist, diagnosis is clinical and no test is needed to determine what it is. However, since many skin conditions can mimic each other and the appearance of the DPN can resemble other very similar mole-like lesions -- whether flat, raised or pendulous, usually a skin biopsy is done.
This treatment is simply when a piece, or all of the skin lesion, mass, bump etc. is surgically removed from the affected area and sent to the pathologist who studies the specimen using various techniques with the aid of a microscope to determine its benign or malignant state. Knowing that DPN is not a cancerous problem usually they are left alone, but because in some people they may have one or a few that hang or protrude, and depending on its location, can repeatedly get caught on clothes, or they are constantly picked at, then removal is suggested.
Also they can present as disfiguring clusters all over the eyelid area which can play a role in the distortion or disruption of proper vision causing removal to become necessary. Due to the numerous amounts that may appear in any given area on the face, neck or upper back and chest, they can coalesce together giving the illusion of large black moles all over the face and/or neck, which in a lot of cases is distressing for the individual and sometimes plays on their self-confidence.
Treatment in individuals that seek help can range from simple numbing of the area and cutting with a scalpel or burning with the aid of electricity of the growth(s) in one session to numbing, cutting and/or burning over a number of sessions. Normally all procedures that require removal of the DPN are best done with topical or injected anesthesia (numbing medicine) to the affected area to allow for careful removal. Besides cutting and burning the DPN another technique used is cryotherapy -- a technique that utilizes liquid nitrogen to freeze and dry it eventually causing it to fall off.
However, with the use of any of the above techniques post procedure complications, where the skin from which the DPN was removed can become darker or lighter, can occur in some people, however in most cases once the area heals, normal skin color returns. o Dr. Rokeisha Clare-Kleinbussink studied at Cosmetology Cosmetic Training for Dermal Filler in London, UK and attended the Academy of Beauty Training for Laser and Microdermabrasion in Nottinghamshire, UK. She also attended the University of the West Indies School of Medicine and Cardiff University School of Medicine. She has a private practice at Roseona House of General and Cosmetic Dermatology and can be reached at www.roseonahouse.com or 422-2022.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
