Horny keratoma

Cutaneous horn (horny keratoma) — this neoplasm is conical in shape, dense to the touch, with a rough surface. The color of the growth ranges from flesh to light brown. The size ranges from a few millimeters to several centimeters in height. An inflammatory roller sometimes appears around the base of the horn.

As a rule, a cutaneous horn develops on the face, scalp, on the auricles and on the eyelids. Less often it occurs on the back, legs, and mucous membranes.

The cutaneous horn is formed from the spiny layer of the epidermis.

In most patients, only one horny keratoma is found. But in medicine, there are cases when a person had several skin horns.

Interesting cases of horny keratoma:

• Zhang Ruifang, a long-lived Chinese woman, has a 6 cm long horn on her forehead;
• Shyam Lal Yadav, an Indian farmer, grew a 10.2 cm long horn after a head injury. The neoplasm was successfully removed by surgeons;
• Madame Dimanche, a Frenchwoman who lived in Paris at the beginning of the XIX century, became the owner of a horn 24.9 cm long.

The exact causes of horny keratoma have not yet been established. But it is known that cutaneous horn is usually found in elderly people aged 60 years and older. Also, some researchers talk about the genetic prerequisites of the disease: if a skin horn was formed in one of the parents, then it is highly likely that it will appear in the child.