Crohn's disease presenting as vulvar edema in a 15-year-old girl.

BACKGROUND

Vulval involvement is an uncommon extraintestinal manifestation of Crohn's disease, and it is very rare in children. Patients with vulval CD typically present with erythema and edema of the labia majora, which can progresses to extensive ulcer formation. Vulval CD can appear before or after intestinal problems or it may occur simultaneously.

OBSERVATION: We present a 15-years-old girl with bilateral labial hypertrophy which revealed a Crohn's disease. The course of her lesion was independent of the intestinal disease and responded significantly to medical treatment including Mesalamine, corticosteroid and local care.

CONCLUSIONS

We emphasize that although vulval involvement in childhood is uncommon, Crohn's disease must be considered in the differential diagnosis of nontender, red, edematous lesions of the genital area.