Lichen planus mimicking and coexisting with psoriasis in a black patient

We report a case of lichen planus coexisting with psoriasis in a black patient. As the lesions of lichen planus appeared similar in appearance to the psoriatic plaques its diagnosis was missed by several dermatologists. This may be due to the dark skin of this patient making the characteristic clinical differences between the two conditions less obvious. The coexistence of these two relatively common conditions is probably under reported in the literature. However, differentiation is important as treatment and prognosis of the two disorders differ.