Unilateral nevoid telangiectasia presents with fine
thread veins, typically over a
segment of skin supplied by a particular nerve
on one side of the body.
It most frequently involves the
trigeminal
In neuroanatomy, the trigeminal nerve ( lit. ''triplet'' nerve), also known as the fifth cranial nerve, cranial nerve V, or simply CN V, is a cranial nerve responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and chewing ...
,
C3 and
C4, or nearby areas.
[ The condition was named in 1970 by Victor Selmanowitz.]
Signs and symptoms
Unilateral nevoid telangiectasia is characterized by multiple chronic asymptomatic superficial blanching telangiectasias
Telangiectasias, also known as spider veins, are small dilated blood vessels that can occur near the surface of the skin or mucous membranes, measuring between 0.5 and 1 millimeter in diameter. These dilated blood vessels can develop anywhere on ...
along dermatomes or Blaschko's lines
Blaschko's lines, also called the lines of Blaschko, are lines of normal cell development in the skin. These lines are only visible in those with a mosaic skin condition or in chimeras where different cell lines contain different genes. These li ...
,
Causes
Unilateral nevoid telangiectasia can be congenital or acquired. Rare congenital type manifests at or soon after the neonatal period; it is more common in males and occurs in an autosomal dominant
In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant and t ...
pattern. Conversely, the acquired form is nearly exclusively found in young female patients who have physiologic problems.
Diagnosis
A normal-appearing epidermis
The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water rele ...
with superficial dermal telangiectatic blood vessels
The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away f ...
beneath and a low level of inflammatory infiltration is revealed by histopathologic investigation.
Treatment
After the triggering factor is eliminated, unilateral nevoid telangiectasia usually persists but in rare situations, it resolves on its own. The first step in treatment is cosmetic concealment.pulsed dye laser
A dye laser is a laser that uses an organic dye as the lasing medium, usually as a liquid solution. Compared to gases and most solid state lasing media, a dye can usually be used for a much wider range of wavelengths, often spanning 50 to 100 ...
, which has proven to be a useful alternative.
See also
* Skin lesion
A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this s ...
* List of cutaneous conditions
Many skin conditions affect the human integumentary system—the organ system covering the entire surface of the body and composed of skin, hair, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this system is as a barrier against t ...
References
Further reading
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*
External links
VisualDx
Dermatology Advisor
{{Cutaneous vasculitis
Dermal and subcutaneous growths
Vascular-related cutaneous conditions