Ear
External ear tumors - benign / nonneoplastic
Chondrodermatitis nodularis chronica helicis
Author: Nat Pernick, M.D.
Last author update: 1 October 2013
Last staff update: 12 December 2024
Copyright: 2002-2024, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: Chondrodermatitis nodularis chronica helicis
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Treatment | Gross description | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images | Differential diagnosis | Additional referencesCite this page: Pernick N. Chondrodermatitis nodularis chronica helicis. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/earchondrodermatitis.html. Accessed December 26th, 2024.
Definition / general
- Also called Winkler's disease
- Idiopathic, nonneoplastic ulcerative lesion of auricle
- Usually men ages 40+; uncommon in women
- Symptoms: appears spontaneously; unilateral, painful nodule
Treatment
- Wedge or cartilage excision, glucocorticoid injection
- Frequently recurs
Gross description
- Dome shaped nodule, 0.3 - 1.8 cm, with crusty scale covering central area of ulceration
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Central ulceration of epidermis with adjacent acanthosis, hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis and pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia
- Base of ulcer has granulation tissue that usually involves perichondrium and cartilage
- Usually nerve hyperplasia identified with S100 (J Am Acad Dermatol 2006;55:844)
- May have foci of fibrinoid necrosis
- No dermal adnexa at site of lesion
Microscopic (histologic) images
Images hosted on other servers:
Infiltration of papillary dermis by epithelioid (E) cells
External and middle ear
Differential diagnosis
- Clinically resembles carcinoma
- Vascular proliferation may resemble a glomus tumor
