Vulvar cicatricial pemphigoid as a lichen sclerosus imitator. A case report

Because vulvar lichen sclerosus is very common, a clinician confronted with hypopigmentation and agglutination of the labia minora is tempted to make a diagnosis of the disease without the benefit of a skin biopsy or a careful examination of other epithelial surfaces. Unfortunately, that clinical picture is also consistent with the end stage of several other diseases, including cicatricial pemphigoid (benign mucous membrane pemphigoid), as demonstrated by a case of cicatricial pemphigoid affecting the vulva.