OBJECTIVETo evaluate the CT and pathological features of head and neck pilomatricoma.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed the CT findings of 13 patients with head and neck pilomatricoma which were pathologically confirmed. Of them 7 patients received plain CT, 2 patients received contrast-enhancement, and 4 patients received plain CT plus contrast-enhancement.

RESULTSAll the patients presented with solitary tumors, 9 of them occurred in the parotid gland region, one in the left occipital, one in the right forehead, one in the right parietal, and another one in the left eyelid. The maximal diameter of the tumors ranged from 0.6 to 2.3 cm with a mean of 1.5 cm. All lesions were well-circumscribed, with partial attachment to the overlying skin. Most of lesions were isodense relative to adjacent skeletal muscle on non-enhanced CT scans, sand-like or nodular calcifications within the masses were showed in 8 cases, and no cystic degeneration was found. On contrast-enhanced imaging, mild to moderate homogenous enhancement was showed in 3 cases, heterogeneous moderate enhancement with patchy nonenhancing necrosis area in one case, marked enhancement in one case, and complete calcification with no enhancement in one case.

CONCLUSIONHead and neck pilomatricoma presents with certain characteristics on CT, which are useful in the clinical diagnosis and differential diagnosis.

Diagnosis, Differential ; Hair Diseases ; diagnosis ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Pilomatrixoma ; diagnosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed