Scrotal calcinosis. Dystrophic calcification of epidermoid cysts

Abstract

Scrotal calcinosis, consisting of solitary or multiple circumscribed deposits of calcium within the dermis of the scrotum, has generally been assumed to be idiopathic. We have recently examined three patients in whom scrotal epidermoid cysts in varying stages of inflammation coexisted with scrotal calcinosis. Some cysts showed calcification of their keratin contents with little evidence of active inflammation. Other cysts showed rupture of their epithelial walls associated with the presence of keratin fibers, granulomatous inflammation, and calcium granules in the surrounding dermis. It seems that so-called idiopathic scrotal calcinosis may represent the end stage of dystrophic calcification associated with the inflammation of scrotal epidermoid cysts.