Facial Hair on a Woman: Diagnosing and Treating a Pathological Twist on a Common Problem.

Abstract

A 46-year-old woman who had had occasional coarse, dark hairs on her chin and chest since she was 17 years old presented with rapidly progressive hirsutism and new onset of virilization--(eg, for the first time in her life, she had coarse, dark hair on her back and balding in the temporal and occipital areas of her scalp). A thorough evaluation, including laboratory tests, several imaging studies, and ovarian and adrenal vein catheterization, revealed a small ovarian hilus cell tumor that was successfully removed by a laparoscopic approach. During the 30 months after the testosterone-producing ovarian tumor had been diagnosed and the woman's ovary had been removed, her hirsutism progressed no further, hair began to grow back in the temporal and occipital areas of her scalp, and she began to lose some excess weight.