Facial peeling skin syndrome: a case report and a brief review

Abstract

Peeling skin syndrome is an extremely rare genodermatosis of possible autosomal recessive inheritance, characterized by asymptomatic spontaneous exfoliation of the stratum corneum at a subcorneal or intracorneal level. It usually presents at birth or appears later in early childhood. The condition may be generalized or localized. Here we describe a case of localized continual skin peeling limited to the facial skin in a 6-month-old infant, with two other members of the family affected with the same condition. A few cases of localized skin peeling limited to the acral surfaces have been described in the literature, but a familial case of localized skin peeling limited to the facial skin has not been described before. We believe that our patient represents a new subtype of peeling skin syndrome, limited to the skin of the face.