A teenage girl develops a growth on her shoulder containing a strange gooey liquid

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It's a story that sounds a lot like the beginning of a science-fiction film. For several months, an American teenager saw a large, reddish mass growing on her shoulder. And the nightmare didn't end there: to her disgust, a gelatinous substance oozed out when she popped it!

A mushroom-shaped gelatinous growth

When it comes to skin problems, not all teenagers are equal. This is the sad fact that a 16-year-old American girl had to face. In the span of a few months, a reddish mushroom-like growth literally sprouted on her shoulder. In a recent report published in the medical journal JAMA Dermatology, doctors explain that this mass appeared 'without obvious triggers' such as a physical shock or insect bite.

And the young American had not seen the last of it. Within six months, the mass had grown considerably. It extended more than 3 centimetres above the surface of the skin. Nodules could even be felt inside this bizarre fungus. The horror reached its climax when, out of sheer frustration, she tried to pierce it. Out poured a disgusting gelatinous substance. But in the end, the doctors explained to her that it was a benign tumor.

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An extremely rare benign tumor

A non-serious but extremely rare tumor known as bulbous pilomatricoma. It develops inthe hair follicles and generally affects the head and neck area. The causes of the tumor's appearance are not yet clearly identified. The other good news for this young girl was that all her medical results and tests were normal. The tumour was removed under local anaesthetic.

On examining her old growth, doctors realized that it was composed of an accumulation of immune cells, the result, according to one medical theory, of the blockage of the usual movement of lymph. Since then, everything seems to be going well for this young American. After removal of the tumor, doctors said the patient is doing fine.

The patient was followed regularly, and no recurrence was detected 1 year post-operatively.

In the event of a pilomatricoma not being completely removed, this 'almost always leads to recurrence', as they added.

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This article has been translated from Gentside FR.

Sources used:

JAMA Dermatology