Gouty tophi on the ear: a review.

Although the classic location of gouty tophi is the great toe (podagra), gouty tophi of the ear also is common and is worth including in the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with ear lesions. Other entities presenting as papules or nodules on the ear include chondrodermatitis nodularis helicis (CNH), actinic keratosis, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, verruca vulgaris, amyloids, rheumatoid nodules, and elastotic nodules. If tophaceous gout is suspected, alcohol fixation of the biopsy specimen is preferable, as it enables visualization of characteristic needle-shaped urate crystals.