[Launois-Bensaude's disease: report of 17 cases]

Launois-Bensaude's disease (LBD) is a rare condition affecting patients aged between 30 and 60, and being considered as more frequent in males. It is characterized by symmetric fat deposits mainly on the neck and upper trunk that can lead to major functional and aesthetic damage. The cause of LBD is unknown but alcoholism is often associated.

The objectives were to study the epidemiological, clinical, and biological particularities, the therapeutic modalities and the evolution of 17 patients (nine males, eight females) seen between 2003 and 2005 at a medical and surgical consultation, and to compare them to the literature data. Seven patients were seen again in our out-patient department and the nine others (one was lost for follow-up) agreed to answer our questionnaire on the phone.

The high proportion of female in our study is due to the high prevalence of female alcoholism in Northern France. Indeed, all patients were alcoholic but eight were deprived at the time of the first consultation. Mean age for the beginning of the disease was 48. Mean delay between the first signs and our medical and surgical consultation was eight years. Tumoral masses mainly involved the neck, the trunk, and the deltoid areas. Surgical treatment was performed in nine deprived patients for at least 12 months with a satisfactory functional and aesthetic result and a mean decrease of 50% was noted for the dermatology life quality index (DLQI). We observed no immediate complications but two cases with hypertrophic scar and one case with persistent dysesthesia. Four out of them presented recurrence corresponding with resumption of alcohol abuse, confessed in two cases and suspected in the two others. In the absence of surgical management, the disease was stable in three cases but evolved in four cases. No spontaneous regression was observed.