BIRTHMARKS WITH SERIOUS MEDICAL SIGNIFICANCE - NEVOCELLULAR-NEVI, SEBACEOUS-NEVI, AND MULTIPLE CAFE-AU-LAIT SPOTS

Birthmarks of potential medical significance were identified among 4,641 newborn infants: 1.1% had a nevocellular nevus and 0.3% had a sebaceous nevus; 1.8% of black infants, but no white infants, had three or more cafe au lait spots. The large nevocellular nevus is considered premalignant, but the significance of the small nevocellular nevus has not been established. The sebaceous nevus fades after birth but undergoes hyperplasia at puberty. Multiple cafe au lait spots-occur less commonly in white than in black infants, and are therefore of greater concern as possibly an early sign of neurofibromatosis. © 1979 The C. V. Mosby Company.