Pseudocarcinomatous hyperplasia involving the ear from gout: a diagnostic pitfall.

The ear is a characteristic location for deposition of uric acid in patients with gout. Pseudocarcinomatous hyperplasia has not been described in this location. We report three patients with tophaceous gout on the ear whose biopsies exhibited epidermal hyperplasia mimicking squamous cell carcinoma, in order to call attention to this potential diagnostic pitfall.