MILIUM
MILIUM ICD-10: L72.830
• A milium is a 1- to 2-mm, superficial, white to yellow, keratin-containing epidermal cyst, occurring multiply, located on the eyelids, cheeks, and forehead in pilosebaceous follicles (Fig. 9-34A and B).
• The lesions can occur at any age, even in infants.
• Milia arise either de novo, especially around the eye, or in association with various subepidermal blistering dermatoses (pemphigoid, porphyria cutanea tarda, bullous lichen planus, and epidermolysis bullosa) (Fig. 9-34C) and skin trauma (abrasion, burns, dermabrasion, and radiation therapy).
• Incision and expression of contents are the method of treatment.
A
B
C
FIGURE 9-34 • Milia (A) A small chalk-white or yellowish papule on the cheek; it can be slit with a scalpel, releasing a little ball of horny material. (B) A larger lesion on the lower lid of an African woman. (C) Multiple milia on the trunk of a child with hereditary dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (see Section 6).