A Curious Case of Rhinophyma in a 73-Year-Old Patient

Rhinophyma is a benign tumor characterized by a pro-gressive hypertrophy of the nose soft tissues, with a re-ddish and bulky appearance, affecting most frequently elderly Caucasian males[1], which may also cause functional airway obstruction. It is believed to be the end stage of severe acne rosacea, but the real cause and the exact etiology remain unknown[1]. The male to female ratio of rhinophyma patient varies between 5 to 1 and 30 to 1 [2,3]. The diagnosis is based on the clinical features of this rare and disfiguring disease using Rhinophyma Severity Index Score (RHISI)[4]. The main differential diagnosis is the basal cell carcinoma (BCC), with an occult incidence of 3% to 10% in patients with rhinophyma[1]. […]