Steatocystoma Multiplex also known as Sebocystomatosis or Epidermal polycystic disease is a rare inherited disorder of pilosebaceous unit ( it consist of sebaceous gland, hair follicle and hair shaft) in which numerous sebum filled dermal cyst develops on the skin.

Steatocystoma Multiplex usually starts during adolescence or early adulthood and tends to affect male and female equally. It is usually seen on the chest, neck, upper arms and face. In some cases it can occur on back, forearm, thigh, scrotum and sometimes it may develop all over the body. These cysts are small ranging from 2-20 mm but sometimes can develop to several centimetres in diameter. They are usually nontender, asymptomatic, soft to firm, yellow or skin colored and contains odorless creamy or oily fluid inside them. Sometimes they contain one or more hairs. If untreated these lesion may become infected and heal with scarring.

Steatocystoma Multiplex poses no threat to ones health, but its a cosmetic problem. Although surgical excision can provide good result but with a widespread lesion excision may result with scarring. For widespread lesion aspiration of the fluid with a syringe have been used with fairly successive results, though recurrence may be common. For the facial cysts where scarring is the major concern, gentle needle insertion and removal of the cystic contents without destroying the cyst wall have been considered as a treatment of choice with good results and less risk of scarring and recurrence.

Inflamed or infected cysts can be treated with oral antibiotics. Oral isotretinoin may further help reduce inflammation but doesn’t eradicate the cysts, study suggests. Intralesional steroids, oral retinoids, cryotherapy and carbondioxide lasers have been reported to reduce the inflammation with varying results. For multiple cysts, Carbon dioxide laser ablation have shown good cosmetic results with low recurrence rate.

Carbon dioxide laserEpidermal polycystic diseaseisotretinoinSebocystomatosisSteatocystoma Multiplex
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