Bilateral periorbital swelling as the initial presentation of cutaneous lupus erythematosus

Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), defined as isolated cutaneous lesions without significant systemic involvement, has a reported incidence and prevalence of 4.3 and 73.2 per 100,000, respectively.1 It occurs more commonly among women with a reported age of onset between the second and fourth decades of life.1 The 3 more common subtypes of lupus are systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), subacute cutaneous lupus, and discoid lupus erythematosus. A subset of patients shows atypical clinical manifestations of CLE, which are more rare subtypes and pose a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.