Extrafacial Melasma: A Scenario Less Explored

BACKGROUND: Extrafacial melasma is a rare presentation, commonly occurring in postmenopausal women with a poor etiological insight and nature of its course. We planned to decipher the natural course of extrafacial melasma based on history questionnaire. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with diagnosis of extrafacial melasma were recruited. After informed consent, complete history including age of onset, duration, progression, sites of involvement (initial site as well as current site of pigmentation), treatment history, history of drug intake, family history, associated other diseases, and clinical photography and dermoscopy were done. RESULTS: Fifteen extrafacial melasma patients were recruited. All were females with mean age of 51.2 years. History of facial melasma in past was given by 93% of recruited patients. Mean total duration of melasma was 23 years. Ten (66%) patients had centrofacial melasma to begin with, 4 (26%) patients had malar melasma, and 1 (6.6%) had extrafacial melasma as initial presentation. Currently all patients had extrafacial melasma. Mean time for clearance of central face melasma was 18.2 years and appearance of melasma at extrafacial sites was 20 years. CONCLUSIONS: We infer that different clinical patterns of melasma occur sequentially over the natural course of disease and centrofacial melasma as the initial presentation in majority of our patients, progressed to involve extrafacial sites with time.