skip to main content

Dermoid Cyst — SCE Dermatology MCQ

Instant feedback + full explanation. One question, done properly.

HardPaediatric DermatologyDermoid CystSCE Dermatology

A 33-year-old woman presents with a midline dermoid cyst on the nose of her newborn infant. What investigation is essential before surgical excision?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: B — MRI of the nose and anterior skull base before excision

The best answer is “MRI of the nose and anterior skull base before excision”. Dermatological surgery should preserve diagnostic architecture, orient closure with local tension and cosmetic units, and select reconstruction by defect depth, size, subunit and functional distortion risk. The alternatives “Ultrasound to confirm a superficial cystic component, within an appropriate UK pathway”, “Plain radiography to identify nasal-bone remodelling, after clinicopathological correlation”, “CT of the paranasal sinuses without soft-tissue imaging”, “Immediate excision without preoperative tract imaging, when the full phenotype supports it” are clinically adjacent possibilities, but they do not fit the defining morphology, distribution, histopathology, risk signal or management sequence in this stem.

Reference: NICE HTG388 melanoma diagnostic practice: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/htg388/chapter/3-Clinical-need-and-practice