Panatrophy of Gowers is a rare disease: case reports and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND

Panatrophy of Gowers (PG) is a very rare disorder. It is characterized by a sharply defined and localized area of atrophy involving subcutaneous tissue and, on rare occasions, bone. The etiopathogenesis of this disorder is an enigma. A limited number of patients have been described in single case reports.

OBJECTIVES

This article describes the clinical features and histopathological findings of PG with the aim of indicating that PG may not be as rare as it is assumed to be.

METHODS

We studied patients with lesions resembling those of PG between the years 2007 and 2012. Diagnoses of PG were based on clinical and histopathological findings.

RESULTS

Four female and three male patients presented with clinically and histologically identical lesions.

CONCLUSIONS

This disorder is not as rare as it is assumed to be, probably because it is misdiagnosed as post-steroid atrophy; thus PG requires more attention. Seven patients with PG are reported here to counteract the supposed rarity of this disorder and to highlight findings of hypopigmentation mimicking steroid-induced atrophy.