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Bilateral skin dimples on the shoulders
J M Spencer1, P I Schneiderman, M E Grossman
1Department of Dermatology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032.
Insights
Infants can develop rare, benign skin dimples near the shoulders, known as acromial dimples. This autosomal dominant condition is usually harmless, but other causes of skin dimples should be considered.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Clinical Genetics
Background:
- Cutaneous depressions (dimples) are typically facial features.
- Non-facial dimples are uncommon and require careful evaluation.
Observation:
- An infant presented with bilateral, deep dimple-like skin depressions near the acromion.
- These dimples were noted bilaterally in the shoulder region.
Findings:
- The observed acromial dimples are most consistent with a rare autosomal dominant condition.
- This condition, autosomal acromial dimples, is seldom reported in medical literature.
Implications:
- Clinicians should be aware of benign acromial dimples as a differential diagnosis for skin dimples.
- Understanding the etiology of skin dimples is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management.
- Other potential causes of congenital dimples include syndromes, infections, metabolic disorders, and trauma.
Abstract:
Cutaneous depressions, commonly known as dimples, are uncommon in locations other than the face. An infant had deep dimple-like depressions near the acromion bilaterally. This most likely represents benign autosomal acromial dimples, a rarely reported autosomal dominant condition. Other causes of dimples include a variety of congenital malformation syndromes, and infectious, metabolic, and traumatic etiologies. Awareness of the etiology and significance of skin dimples is helpful to the clinician when confronted with this unusual finding.