We evaluated the relation between race and economic status of surgical patients and their likelihood of being treated by a surgeon in training rather than by a staff surgeon. Blacks were 2.2 to 4.3 times more likely than whites to be under the care of surgeons in training (P less than 0.001). This relation has remained unchanged over the past two decades. It remained when the method of payment was via self-payment or private insurance, but disappeared when patients being paid for by Medicaid were considered. In addition, black emergency patients were more likely than white emergency patients to be cared for by surgeons in training.

We report here a case of bilateral trichomegaly associated with alopecia areata in a 3-year-old girl, healthy except for mild atopic dermatitis. Trichomegaly is a rare condition and, in many cases, is a side effect of medication such as ophthalmic solution prostaglandin analogs and epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors. Trichomegaly has also been associated with acquired medical conditions such as HIV, systemic lupus erythematosus, anorexia nervosa, porphyria cutanea tarda, hypothyroidism, and dermatomyositis. In very rare circumstances, trichomegaly has been described as part of congenital conditions such as Oliver-McFarlane syndrome. We believe that the development of bilateral trichomegaly in conjunction with alopecia areata in this patient represents a novel finding as it occurred in the absence of any significant health problems, congenital abnormalities, or medications.

Myeloid sarcoma is a rare tumor of immature myeloid cells in an extramedullary site. Myeloid sarcoma may present in a variety of locations; skin is one of the common sites. It may precede or occur concurrently with acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, other forms of myeloproliferative disorders/myelodysplastic syndrome or de novo. We report a case of a 4-month-old female who presented with cutaneous lesions without evidence of leukemia, determined to be de novo myeloid sarcoma. She had erythematous nodules in multiple skin sites. Biopsy revealed a diffuse atypical mononuclear cell infiltrate involving the entire dermis and extending to the subcutis. The infiltrate was diffusely positive for lysozyme, CD43, CD15, CD33, CD68 and CD117 and was negative for CD3, CD20, CD34, CD56, CD79a, CD99, myeloperoxidase, desmin, chromogranin and synaptophysin, supporting a diagnosis of myeloid sarcoma. No leukemic involvement was found on evaluation of peripheral blood or bone marrow aspiration. Chromosomal abnormalities were found at chromosomes 7, 10 and 11. The skin lesions resolved following multiple chemotherapy courses, then recurred requiring additional treatment. De novo myeloid sarcoma involving skin without evidence of leukemia can occur in an infant and may present a diagnostic challenge.

A 59-year-old white man with a history of Sydenham's chorea received a mitral valve prosthesis in 1962. He sustained an anterolateral myocardial infarction in 1983. In 1984, he received a heart transplant. To prevent heart rejection, he was initially treated with cyclosporine 12 mg/kg/day and prednisone 90 mg b.i.d. In 1987, azathioprine 100 mg daily was added. In 1989, at the time of our evaluation, his medications included cyclosporine 80 mg b.i.d., prednisone 10 mg b.i.d., and azathioprine 75 mg/day. Since his heart transplant surgery he had not taken any thiazide medication. The patient noted a lesion on his right thigh; the lesion appeared in 1986, 2 years after his heart transplant. On examination in 1989, the lesion was a 2 cm wide annular plaque with a shiny atrophic center and raised border. Both the clinical appearance and pathology were consistent with a diagnosis of porokeratosis of Mibelli. No family history of porokeratosis was elicited.

Circumscribed acral hypokeratosis is a disorder characterized by areas of erythematous depressed skin with distinct histopathological findings typically found on the palmar and plantar surfaces. Most patients are middle-aged women who report a multiyear history. We present an 10-year-old African American boy who had an asymptomatic, irregularly shaped erythematous lesion on his left medial foot that had been present since birth. A biopsy showed an abrupt, well-demarcated decrease in the thickness of the stratum corneum layer, with no parakeratosis, that was consistent with a diagnosis of circumscribed hypokeratosis. This represents the first pediatric and congenital case of circumscribed hypokeratosis reported. We review the literature and discuss the ramifications of a congenital case on understanding the etiology of circumscribed hypokeratosis.