Wei Y, Chen P, Wu H. Gigantic occipital epidermal cyst in a 56-year-old female: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2024; 12(6): 1169-1173 [PMID: 38464927 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i6.1169]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Hao Wu, MD, PhD, Academic Editor, Assistant Professor, Doctor, Research Scientist, Senior Editor, Department of Neurosurgery, The second affiliated hospital of Xi’an Medical University, No. 167 Fangdong Street, Baqiao District, Xi'an 710038, Shaanxi Province, China. suidewuhua@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Surgery
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Feb 26, 2024; 12(6): 1169-1173 Published online Feb 26, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i6.1169
Gigantic occipital epidermal cyst in a 56-year-old female: A case report
Yao Wei, Peng Chen, Hao Wu
Yao Wei, Peng Chen, Hao Wu, Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Medical University, Xi'an 710038, Shaanxi Province, China
Co-first authors: Yao Wei and Hao Wu.
Author contributions: Wei Y and Wu H contributed to manuscript writing and editing, and data collection; Chen P contributed to data analysis; Wu H contributed to conceptualization and supervision; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images. We guarantee patient anonymity.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hao Wu, MD, PhD, Academic Editor, Assistant Professor, Doctor, Research Scientist, Senior Editor, Department of Neurosurgery, The second affiliated hospital of Xi’an Medical University, No. 167 Fangdong Street, Baqiao District, Xi'an 710038, Shaanxi Province, China. suidewuhua@163.com
Received: November 13, 2023 Peer-review started: November 13, 2023 First decision: January 9, 2024 Revised: January 12, 2024 Accepted: February 2, 2024 Article in press: February 2, 2024 Published online: February 26, 2024 Processing time: 98 Days and 11.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Gigantic epidermal cysts (GECs) are rare benign skin appendicular tumours also known as keratinocysts. GECs have a high incidence and their wall is made up of epidermis. Epidermal cysts can occur in any part of the skin; clinical manifestations include skin colour hemispherical swelling; cystic; mobile; 0.5 cm to several centimetres in diameter; and slow growth.
CASE SUMMARY
Herein, we report a case involving a 56-year-old female with a GEC in the occipitalia. On July 25, 2023, a patient with a GEC was admitted to the neurosurgery Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Medical University. The phyma was shown to be a solid mass during the operation and was confirmed to be a GEC based on pathological examination.
CONCLUSION
Epidermal cysts are common cystic nodules on the surface of the body, the aetiology is unclear, the clinical manifestations can vary, and the misdiagnosis rate is high. However, giant epidermal cysts are rare. In most cases, however, the prognosis is satisfactory. This paper analyses and summarizes the population, location, clinical and pathological characteristics and pathogenesis of the disease to strengthen the understanding of this disease and improve the accuracy of clinical diagnosis.
Core Tip: The clinical manifestations of epidermal cysts are varied and the misdiagnosis rate is high. The disease occurs mostly in the head, face and upper torso of young men. Most patients usually have no symptoms, but epidermal cysts that are gigantic or located in important organs can press on the surrounding tissue structure and produce corresponding symptoms. However, gigantic epidermal cysts occurring in the occipital part of the brain in female patients are relatively rare. This report aims to strengthen the understanding of the disease and improve the accuracy of clinical diagnosis.
