Piebaldism in a 3-month-old infant--case report.

INTRODUCTION Piebaldism is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by the congenital absence of melanocytes in the affected areas of skin and hair due to mutations of the KIT protooncogene, which affects the differentiation and migration of melanoblasts. CASE REPORT A 3 1/2 month old male infant was admitted to hospital due to depigmentation of skin in the area of forehead, trunk and extremities. On admission, he had multiple, irregularly shaped areas of leucoderma present at the forehead, abdomen, lower legs and left forearm. Based on the characteristic skin features and family history, we diagnosed the boy's leucoderma as piebaldism. CONCLUSION Vitiligo differs from piebaldism by the presence of unstable hypopigmented lesions that are acquired later in life. Albinism presents with widespread skin involvement and lacks the characteristic hyperpigmented macules within hypopigmented areas.