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Cryosurgical treatment of lentigo maligna
Author(s) -
De Moraes Aparecida Machado,
Pavarin Lilian Bianchi,
Herreros Fernanda,
De Aguiar Michelman Fábia,
Velho Paulo Eduardo Neves Ferreira,
De Souza Elemir Macedo
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
jddg: journal der deutschen dermatologischen gesellschaft
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.463
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1610-0387
pISSN - 1610-0379
DOI - 10.1111/j.1610-0387.2007.06331.x
Subject(s) - cryosurgery , medicine , lentigo maligna , lentigo maligna melanoma , cryotherapy , dermatology , malignancy , scars , hyperpigmentation , lentigo , lesion , surgery , melanoma , pathology , cancer research
Summary Background: Lentigo maligna (LM) is a common melanocytic malignancy which requires therapy because of the risk of progression to invasive lentigo maligna melanoma which a much worse prognosis. Patients and Methods: 18 patients with clinical and histopathological diagnosis of LM were treated with cryosurgery.The patients were older Caucasians (mean age 59.5 years) and 11 were male. They were chosen for cryosurgery because the lesion posed a surgical challenge or the patient was not a good surgical candidate. They were treated with two freeze‐thaw cycles of liquid nitrogen under local anesthesia in a single sitting. Lesions larger than 2 cm 2 were divided into smaller segments for freezing. Results: The lesions resolved clinically in all cases, with no recurrence or metas‐tasis detected during a mean follow‐up of 75.5 months. Some patients developed hypopigmented scars. Conclusions: Cryosurgery with liquid nitrogen is an efficient, safe and in most cases aesthetically acceptable alternative method to treat LM.