ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the case study of a 59-year-old. A 59-year-old man presents with a 7-week history of a rapidly growing lesion on the dorsum of his right hand. He had seen his GP who had referred him to the dermatology out-patient clinic. He has an erythematous, firm, dome-shaped nodule measuring 1.3 cm in diameter with a central keratin plug. The diagnosis of keratoacanthoma should always be considered when a patient presents with a rapidly enlarging nodule with a central crater. These lesions grow rapidly over a few weeks and are occasionally painful. Keratoacanthomas are epidermal tumours, which may behave in a benign way and are therefore called ‘pseudo’ tumours. In the right clinical context, where the suspicion of keratoacanthoma is very high and the patient deemed unsuitable for a full excision, some keratoacanthomas may be removed by curettage and cautery with satisfactory results.
