Multiple lesions of cutaneous focal mucinosis in a teenager

A 19-year-old Hispanic woman presented to our clinic with a chief complaint of multiple pink papules on her face (Figure 1). The lesions were asymptomatic, had appeared several years before her consultation, and had remained stable in size. Similar lesions on her trunk and extremities had spontaneously resolved before presentation. She had no significant medical history and was not on any medications. Cutaneous examination was remarkable for a few scattered, well-demarcated, slightly raised pink papules and plaques with no scale, ranging from 0.5 to 1 cm in diameter. The lesions were distributed on the right cheek, right temple, left lower eyelid, and neck area. The rest of the cutaneous examination was unremarkable. A punch biopsy was performed from a lesion near the left premandibular area. Hematoxylin and eosin staining of the biopsy specimen revealed superficial perivascular dermatitis with a slight increase in the number of fibroblasts (Figure 2). Colloidal iron staining was diffusely positive with replacement of collagen with mucinous material in the dermal layer (Figure 3). Laboratory values for a complete blood cell count, metabolic panel, serum protein electrophoresis, urine protein electrophoresis, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and antinuclear antibody were within normal limits. The patient was diagnosed with cutaneous focal mucinosis. Because of cosmetic concerns, the patient declined surgical excision and intralesional corticosteroid injections. A 4-month trial of topical tacrolimus 0.1% ointment was ineffective.