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Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Abstract

This is a case study of a 30-year-old male diastrophic dwarf who complained of hypertrichosis on his back and nose of 3 years duration. He had no previous psychiatric history, and although the distortion he described on his back was not apparent to others, there was a minimal amount of dark hair growth on his nose. He had unresolved conflicts concerning his disproportionate arms and legs and had sought surgical correction for many years from many orthopedic surgeons to no avail. After a diagnosis of dysmorphophobia was made by a psychiatric consultant, weekly visits with the dermatologist were arranged for supportive psychotherapy combined with electro-epilation of the hair growth on his nose. The patient experienced a steady improvement and discontinued treatment after a few months with the understanding that he could return as needed.

The patient presented to the dermatology clinic while the author was an intern rotating in dermatology. The author worked with both the dermatology and psychiatry attendings in evaluating this unusual case and then presented it during a dermatology grand rounds. This case serves to illustrate the interesting interface between psychiatry and dermatology which is a growing area of clinical psychiatry-dermatology liaison work (1,2).

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