Early onset pretibial myxedema in the absence of ophthalmopathy: a morphologic evolution.

Pretibial myxedema (PTM) is an uncommon, late manifestation of Graves' disease. It is nearly always preceded by significant ophthalmopathy and classically presents as nonpitting (brawny) edema of the lower extremities. We report a case of PTM that is unusual because of its morphologic evolution, that it occurred prior to the diagnosis of Graves' disease, and in the absence of ophthalmopathy.