Conditions · Lesions & Growths

Sebaceous Hyperplasia

Enlarged sebaceous glands presenting as small, soft, yellowish papules with a central dimple — most often on the forehead and cheeks.

Mechanism

What is actually happening

The gland itself enlarges around a central follicular opening. The dimple is that opening. Incidence rises with age and with androgen exposure.

The distinction

How it is told apart

Commonly confused with milia, which are white rather than yellow and have no central dimple, and occasionally with basal cell carcinoma, which is the reason a persistent solitary lesion is examined rather than treated blind.

Assessment

What is established first

Colour, the presence of a central umbilication, number and distribution, and whether any single lesion looks different from the rest.

Approach

What is typically done

Treatment targets the enlarged gland rather than the surface. Because the lesions are shallow and numerous, the aim is reduction in prominence with minimal textural change.

When treatment waits

When it is deferred

A single enlarging, pearly or bleeding lesion is not treated as sebaceous hyperplasia until it has been properly assessed.

Frequently asked

What is sebaceous hyperplasia?

Enlarged sebaceous glands presenting as small, soft, yellowish papules with a central dimple — most often on the forehead and cheeks.

How is sebaceous hyperplasia told apart from similar conditions?

Commonly confused with milia, which are white rather than yellow and have no central dimple, and occasionally with basal cell carcinoma, which is the reason a persistent solitary lesion is examined rather than treated blind.

What is assessed before treating sebaceous hyperplasia?

Colour, the presence of a central umbilication, number and distribution, and whether any single lesion looks different from the rest.

When is treatment deferred?

A single enlarging, pearly or bleeding lesion is not treated as sebaceous hyperplasia until it has been properly assessed.

Have this assessed

Every assessment is carried out personally by Dr Sin Yong, Medical Director. 9 Scotts Road, #12-01 Pacific Plaza.

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