Lower limb pain and edema due to thyroid dermopathy: an unusual presentation of Graves disease in an adolescent patient.

Graves disease is an immune-mediated process characterized by the presence of autoantibodies to thyrotropin receptors. Its stimulating action on the thyroid gland causes diffuse glandular growth and increased hormone production. Graves disease is characterized by a subacute onset of non-specific, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and eye symptoms, sometimes followed by skin manifestations, such as thyroid dermopathy or myxedema. In pediatrics, Graves disease is rare (although it is the most frequent cause of hyperthyroidism). However, the chronology of symptom onset has been well described; the development of dermopathy in the absence of other symptoms of hyperthyroidism and without eye involvement is rare. Here we describe the case of a 15-year-old female patient with thyroid dermopathy due to Graves disease without eye disease or other associated clinical symptoms of hyperthyroidism.