Peno-gingival (or penile-gingival) lichen planus is a rare variant of this disease characterized by severe erosive genital lesions and desquamative gingivitis in men. Dermatosis was first described by B. Cribier et al in 1993. It is now considered the equivalent of vulvovaginal-gingival lichen planus in women (Hewitt-Pelisse syndrome). The disease is rare; the literature describes 23 cases of the disease in men with severe erosive damage to the genitals and oral cavity that is regarded as peno-gingival lichen planus where desquamative balanitis and gingivitis were noted in 17 patients. Erosions in peno-gingival lichen planus are localized on the head and occasionally capture the trunk or foreskin of the penis. The defeat of the gums is represented by erythema and erosions with a whitish pattern along the periphery. Sometimes the pathological process involves the mucous membranes of the cheeks and tongue, the red border of the lips, the skin of other parts of the body and the nail plates, and less often the mucous membrane of the esophagus and conjunctiva. In general, the disease in men is characterized by favorable course, high efficiency of therapy and rare cicatricial changes in comparison with vulvovaginal-gingival lichen planus in women. Here is a clinical case of gingival lichen planus that was combined with typical rashes on the mucous membranes of the cheeks and tongue, the skin of the trunk, and damage to the nail plates. As a result of complex therapy with topical glucocorticosteroids and hydroxychloroquine, the pathological process on the mucous membranes stabilized, the papules on the skin of the trunk became flattened, and the rash on the genitals resolved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)26-31
Number of pages6
JournalKlinicheskaya Dermatologiya i Venerologiya
Volume20
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

    Research areas

  • Balanitis, Erosive lichen planus, Gingival foaming lichen planus, Gingivitis

    Scopus subject areas

  • Dermatology
  • Infectious Diseases

ID: 92571340