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Light Brown Spots In Groin Area. Like Cafe-au-lait Spots. Could It Be Due To NF?

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Posted on Fri, 24 Aug 2012
Twitter Fri, 24 Aug 2012 Answered on
Twitter Thu, 13 Sep 2012 Last reviewed on
Question : Hi,

My son has light brown spots(around 5 or 6) in his groin area. His doctor said they are cafe-au-lait spots. Could it be due to NF?
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Answered by Dr. Praveen Rodrigues (9 hours later)
Hi there. if his doctor said that these were cafe-au-lait spots, then that is what they are. Although cafe-au-lait spots are present in a number of conditions (largely the neurodermatoses like NF, Tuberous sclerosis(TS) etc), more often than not, they are of 'normal' occurence especially if they are only 5-6 & located to one region or 'segmental'. Having said that, segmental NF cannot be ruled out. I understand your son if 1 year of age & you may wish to be more 'safe than sorry' & empathise with your case. You may wish to ask for a simple skull xray or a CT scan which will show up early signs of NF/TS if at all which i consider 'extremely rare' in your case. I dont believe in percentages just individual cases, hence i have refrained from being too politically correct. The need for the hour (if i sense your pulse having 4 kiddos of my own) is to be sure of what you are dealing with. Although i wish to reassure you that i think this is a 'normal' occurence (assuming here too that there is no-one in your family with any neurofibromatosis), please do run the tests suggested for completion sake & to give your mind the peace it craves.
Cheers & Here's hoping i have in some small way pointed you in the right direction, allayed your fears & helped you make an 'informed' deciscion. Good Luck & Godspeed!
Dr Praveen Rodrigues MD
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Dr. Praveen Rodrigues

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Light Brown Spots In Groin Area. Like Cafe-au-lait Spots. Could It Be Due To NF?

Hi there. if his doctor said that these were cafe-au-lait spots, then that is what they are. Although cafe-au-lait spots are present in a number of conditions (largely the neurodermatoses like NF, Tuberous sclerosis(TS) etc), more often than not, they are of 'normal' occurence especially if they are only 5-6 & located to one region or 'segmental'. Having said that, segmental NF cannot be ruled out. I understand your son if 1 year of age & you may wish to be more 'safe than sorry' & empathise with your case. You may wish to ask for a simple skull xray or a CT scan which will show up early signs of NF/TS if at all which i consider 'extremely rare' in your case. I dont believe in percentages just individual cases, hence i have refrained from being too politically correct. The need for the hour (if i sense your pulse having 4 kiddos of my own) is to be sure of what you are dealing with. Although i wish to reassure you that i think this is a 'normal' occurence (assuming here too that there is no-one in your family with any neurofibromatosis), please do run the tests suggested for completion sake & to give your mind the peace it craves.
Cheers & Here's hoping i have in some small way pointed you in the right direction, allayed your fears & helped you make an 'informed' deciscion. Good Luck & Godspeed!
Dr Praveen Rodrigues MD