Disappearing Vermilion: Report of 14 cases

Sometimes we see patients with disappearing vermilion totally or in some parts. It seems that the marginal skin has advanced to the lip surface with the same color. It occurs mainly in lower lip. The majority of patients had history of recurrent herpes labialis on their lips, in the same location as disappearing vermilion. Disappearing vermilion is not accompanied by any change in consistency of labial skin. There is no symptom and most patients are unaware of it. Sometimes they refer to the physician for other reasons. Rarely patients, particularly women, complain of the disease. We collected a series of 14 cases of disappearing vermilion to evaluate this disease.