No abstract

Topical hydroquinone is used in the treatment of a number of skin conditions. A 33-year-old male presented with brown discolouration of the fingernails following the application of 4% hydroquinone in sorbolene cream and 0.1% tretinoin cream to the face intermittently for 9 months. The discolouration resolved when the creams were ceased.

We present four renal transplant patients who developed hypertrophic scars following carbon dioxide laser ablation of recalcitrant plantar warts. All of the patients were on long-term treatment with cyclosporin, which we believe to be responsible. We discuss several possible mechanisms by which cyclosporin may influence wound healing and scarring.

We report an isolated case of wound infection due to Mycobacterium abscessus following minor cutaneous surgery. The patient had routine skin cancer surgery in a private dermatology practice setting. He presented 2 weeks later with a wound infection which failed to respond to cephalexin. The patient reported that he had walked through salt water and bushes with exposed surgical wounds 1 week postoperatively. Tissue cultures later grew M. abscessus. The patient was successfully treated with oral clarithromycin 500 mg qid of 6 months duration.

We present a 49-year-old patient with a congenital superficial vascular malformation of port-wine stain (PWS) type which has partially re-emerged in the 2.5 years since it was almost completely obliterated with the flashlamp-pumped short pulse pulsed-dye laser (FPDL). This observation is discussed with respect to the possible pathogenesis of PWS, with particular reference to the underlying autonomic nerve supply. The latter would not be expected to respond to FPDL and may explain re-emergence of the lesion.