A Case of Primary Cutaneous Aspergillosis on the Scalp and the Neck.

Lee, Soo Hyang; Burm, Jin Sik; Kim, Yang Woo

Case Report

Journal of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons 2005;32(3):393-396.
Published online May 1, 2005.

A Case of Primary Cutaneous Aspergillosis on the Scalp and the Neck.

Soo Hyang Lee, Jin Sik Burm, Yang Woo Kim

Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea. yangwkim@hotmail.com

Abstract

The cutaneous aspergillosis is one of the most common dermatologic manifestations of disseminated infections associated with the Aspergillus organisms, but the isolated primary cutaneous disease itself can rarely occur in an immunocompetent host. We report a case of the primary cutaneous aspergillosis on the scalp and the neck in a 39-year-old immunocompetent male patient. There was a single purulent ulcer surrounded by the erythematous indurated plaque on the scalp with multiple satellite papules and a multi- lobulated granulomatous plaque with a crust on the neck. Skin biopsy demonstrated a fungus, the Aspergillus, in the deep dermis as the etiologic agent. No evidence of involvement in other organs was found. The patient exhibited no other apparent systemic diseases nor immunologic defects. An elliptical excision and a primary closure was performed, and the adjuvant antifungal treatment, oral itraconazole, was applied to prevent the recurrence by the satellite lesions.

Keywords: Primary cutaneous aspergillosis; Immunocompetent host