A 26-year-old woman notes the insidious onset of an abnormal nail. The nail plate gradually grew away from the underlying nail bed and then began to elevate in a tented fashion.
A 26-year-old woman notes the insidious onset of an abnormal nail. The nail plate gradually grew away from the underlying nail bed and then began to elevate in a tented fashion. The patient cut away the distal nail plate and found a papular lesion under the nail that pushed the latter upwards.
Key point: This rough-surfaced subungual papule also shows dilated, thrombosed blood vessels within it (black dots). This is characteristic of a wart.
Treatment: The nail plate was removed and the subungual mass removed by sharp curettage. The resulting bloody defect was elecrodesiccated, and the nail allowed to heal back by secondary intention. By 9 months later, the entire nail had re-grown in proper position.
Note: Subungual squamous cell carcinoma can closely simulate subungual verucca vulgaris, and a small biopsy is indicated before definitive treatment is given.
Atopic Dermatitis: The Pipeline and Clinical Approaches That Could Transform the Standard of Care
September 24th 2025Patient Care tapped the rich trove of research and expert perspectives from the Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis 2025 conference to create a snapshot of the AD care of the future.