Abstract
A 68-year-old man consulted us on 13 March, 1997, because his ala nasi has been deformed for one week. He had had erythema and vesicles, possibly herpes zoster, on the left cheek and nose on 17 February, which changed to erosion and then epithelized after ten days. On examination, he showed infiltrated erythema with hypoesthesia on the left cheek and nose. The deformation of the left ala nasi was also noticed, resulting in marked stenosis of the vestibule of the nose. Histological examination of the erythema revealed a palisading granuloma in the dermis and granulomatous vasculitis in the deep dermis and subcutaneous tissue. Varicellazoster-virus DNA was detected in the skin by polymerase-chain reaction. The patient was successfully treated with systemic administration of steroid Forty-seven cases reported previously were reviewed.
