Giant comedone

Created: 6th November 2011 | Last Updated: 5th January 2015

Introduction

A giant comedone is an exceptionally large blackhead.



This chapter is set out as follows: Aetiology

History

Clinical findings

Images

Management

Aetiology

The abnormalities that arise could be due to either an increased production of the corneocytes lining the duct and, or an associated decrease in the rate at which the ductal corneocytes separate - but there is no data to confirm either of these suggestion

History

Usually single but occasionally several can be found

People who have very bad acne and atrophic scars are much more prone to developing giant comedo, however they frequently occur in the absence of previous acne

Age - occur more in the middle-aged and elderly age groups

Clinical findings

Distribution ​ Can arise on most parts of the body but especially on areas which are rich in sebaceous glands such as the face, back and chest They are occasionally found where there are apocrine glands, as in the axillae, groins, perianal areas and scrotum



Morphology Size - lesions are between several mm and 2 cm in diameter The diagnosis is usually obvious with the comedone clearly visible underneath normal stretched skin



Images

Please click on images to enlarge or download. The PCDS would like to thank Dermatoweb, DermQuest (Galderma), and others who have contributed images. All named individuals and organisations maintain copyright for the relevant images. This website is non-profit and holds the images for educational purposes only. Any image downloaded must only be used for teaching purposes and not for commercial use. Notice and credit must be given to the PCDS or other named contributor. Please follow this link if you have any high-quality images that you can contribute to the website.

Download Figure: 1 Giant comedone behind left ear Download Figure: 2 Comedone expressed by applying gentle pressure Download Figure: 3 Giant comedone left cheek Download Figure: 4 Giant comedone expressed Download Figure: 5 Close-up of giant comedone Download Figure: 6 Dermoscopic appearance of a giant comedone Download Figure: 7 Extraction of a giant comedone Download Figure: 8 Same patient as figure 7 Download Figure: 9 Same patient as figure 7

Management