Management of naevus sebaceous: a national survey of UK dermatologists and plastic surgeons

• Published in: Clinical and experimental dermatology Vol. 43; no. 5; pp. 589 - 591
• Main Authors: Wali, G. N., Felton, S. J., McPherson, T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01-07-2018
• Subjects: Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Dermatology; Genetic transformation; Hamartoma - pathology; Hamartoma - surgery; Head and neck; Humans; Infant; Malignancy; Management; Neoplasia; Nevus, Sebaceous of Jadassohn - pathology; Nevus, Sebaceous of Jadassohn - surgery; Patient Education as Topic; Plastics; Practice Patterns, Physicians' - statistics & numerical data; Practice Patterns, Physicians' - trends; Self-Examination; Skin Neoplasms - prevention & control; Skin Neoplasms - surgery; Surgery, Plastic; Surveys and Questionnaires; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 0307-6938; 1365-2230
• DOI: 10.1111/ced.13422

Summary
Naevus sebaceous (NS) is a congenital cutaneous hamartoma, which typically occurs on the head and neck. Historically, the treatment of choice was excision in infancy because of the potential for malignant transformation; however, recent studies suggest that this risk is < 1% and unlikely in childhood. We sent a questionnaire to UK dermatologists and plastic surgeons to investigate current management practice of NS. We found that almost a third of dermatologists still recommend excision for malignancy prevention, while over 90% of plastic surgeons consider excision, with 64% citing malignancy prevention as the reason. Plastic surgeons most commonly recommended excision in childhood, whereas dermatologists waited until adulthood. We have shown there is significant variation in practice across the UK in the management of naevus NS. It is important that patients across the UK receive the same standard of care, and therefore we advocate the development of evidence‐based guidance for treatment of naevus NS.