Mongoloid spot

(Mongolian spot)

Blue-grey or grey-brown spot of variable size usually found in the lumbosacral region, the buttocks, and sometimes the lower limbs, the back, the flanks, and the shoulders of normal children. This birthmark is present from the early days in all the babies of Asian and Inuit descent. Between 80% and 97% of African or Africo-American babies are also bearers as well as 50% of infants of hispanic descent. One in ten Caucasian babies may present such a spot, thus showing the crossbred character of the peoples of the world. This lesion is benign and corresponds to a pigmented nevus (hypermelanosis). It usually disappears during childhood, without treatment; however, it may persist into adulthood.

Differential diagnosis: bruises and marks of potential violence; hemangioma.



Anesthetic implications:

the presence of a mongoloid spot is not per se a contraindication to a caudal block or lumbar epidural or spinal block


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Updated: December 2018