Vulvar Dystrophies and Lichen Sclerosus — the View of the Dermatologist

Abstract

Vulvar dystrophies comprise a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by pruritus, chronicity, therapeutic resistance, and unknown etiology (Hagedorn 1988). A further problem is caused by the fact that both the gynecologist and dermatologist are involved in vulvar diseases, each using different nomenclatures. Therefore, a multitude of terms exist, which consequently results in different opinions about the prognosis. It was the merit of the International Society for the Study of Vulvar Diseases (ISSVD) to introduce a classification of vulvar dystrophies in 1976, which was based on histological criteria (Friedrich 1976). It is quite interesting that this nomenclature is mentioned in the newer German textbooks of gynecology and pathology, although only 50% of pathological-anatomical diagnoses are made in accordance with it (Hagedorn 1986). Dermatologists in the German-speaking regions do not use this classification nor do they see any necessity for it. In a recently published review thus was discussed, resulting in wider usage so as to clarify the practicability of such a classification (Hagedorn 1988).