A Case of Terra Firma-Forme Dermatosis Treated with Salicylic Acid Alcohol Peeling

Terra firma-forme dermatosis (TFFD) is a bizarre, acquired and idiopathic dermatosis that etiology has still not been fully defined. It is characterized by the presence of asymptomatic, brownish dirt-like lesion maybe due to disorder of keratinization. These lesions cannot be removed with ordinary cleansing. Therefore, TFFD can be differentiated from dermatosis neglecta. Patient was a 17-year-old man with brownish lesions on his face for 1 month. The patient had a history of regular washing habit with soap and water. The lesions were asymptomatic however due to cosmetic reasons, the patient wanted to treat his skin lesions. Punch biopsy revealed hyperkeratosis and fungal spore are in stratum corneum. Salicylic acid peeling with alcohol base was performed on the patient`s face. The skin lesions disappeared completely on gentle swabbing with peeling. In this point, the diagnosis of TFFD could be considered. Since, this disease can be confused with dermatosis neglecta, we report this case with literature review. (Ann Dermatol 29(1) 83∼85, 2017)