LICHEN SCLEROSUS ET ATROPHICUS OF THE VULVA

IT HAS been our observation that in the diagnosis of lesions of the vulva the disease known as lichen sclerosus et atrophicus has, in many cases, been overlooked and, second, that it has frequently been misdiagnosed and treated as leukoplakic vulvitis. The purpose of this paper is to describe the clinical and histologic features of lichen sclerosus et atrophicus and to show that it is an entirely distinct entity which should not be confused with leukoplakic vulvitis. Lichen sclerosus et atrophicus is a rare disease of the skin, formerly classified as a variant of lichen planus, but now generally considered to be a disease entity belonging to the group of sclerotic atrophies. The dermatologic aspects of the disease have long been well established, but it has been only in the past fifteen years that the frequency and importance of the involvement of the vulva have been recognized. The involvement of