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Images in Dermatology
September 20, 2023

Bullous Aplasia Cutis as a Presenting Sign of Encephalocele

Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  • 2Department of Dermatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
JAMA Dermatol. 2023;159(11):1267. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2023.2708

A 2-week-old male infant born at full-term after an uncomplicated pregnancy and labor presented with a congenital cystic scalp nodule. Physical examination revealed a 12 × 11-mm bullous plaque with a red-blue hue on the right vertex scalp surrounded by darker and longer hairs (Figure). A diagnosis of bullous aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) with hair collar sign was made, and magnetic resonance imaging ruled out a central nervous system tract and intracranial extension. Excision at age 6 years revealed skin devoid of hair follicles and adnexal structures with leptomeningeal-like vessels, macrophages, and cerebral cortex, findings that are consistent with ACC with encephalocele.

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