We report the case of a 51-year-old woman who presented with a progressive elevation of the border of an old varicella scar. The lesion which was clinically diagnosed as a basal cell carcinoma turned out to be a typical desmoplastic trichoepithelioma. The development of desmoplastic trichoepithelioma in an area of scarring has not been previously reported. The nosology of this tumor is discussed with particular emphasis on its possible relationship to morphoeic basal cell carcinoma, thus questioning it as a true tumor sui generis.