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Suggest Treatment For A Melanoma On The Forehead
Question: I recently had a melanoma in situ removed from my forehead, all went well, however, a wk later when I wnet to have the stiches removed, I was informed we have to do this again because the surgeon did not get all the affected area "Melanoma In Situ lesion focally Extends to Peripheral Margin".
Is this normal ? Are could be just a case the surgeon didn't get it all ?
Is this normal ? Are could be just a case the surgeon didn't get it all ?
Brief Answer:
Yes you need another surgery...
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for asking Healthcaremagic.
I am Doctor Endri Katro and I will explain at you why you need to do the surgery again.
According to the biopsy there are cells of melanoma in the margins of the tissue removed in the first surgery. It means that you need to do the surgery again and remove healthy tissue to be cured and to not have a local recurrence later.
Melanoma tends to grow under the skin. So with the naked eye the doctor has removed what he thought was healthy tissue. That is why we perform the biopsy to be sure that we have removed everything and there is only health tissue left.
So you need to do the surgery again because we need to remove tissue at least 9 mm from the melanoma(in some cases even 1.2 cm or 1.5 cm,your surgeon will decide),and in this case,another 9 mm from the scar because there used to be melanoma cells.
If you have any other question,don't hesitate to ask me.
Wishing you good health.
Dr.Endri Katro
Yes you need another surgery...
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for asking Healthcaremagic.
I am Doctor Endri Katro and I will explain at you why you need to do the surgery again.
According to the biopsy there are cells of melanoma in the margins of the tissue removed in the first surgery. It means that you need to do the surgery again and remove healthy tissue to be cured and to not have a local recurrence later.
Melanoma tends to grow under the skin. So with the naked eye the doctor has removed what he thought was healthy tissue. That is why we perform the biopsy to be sure that we have removed everything and there is only health tissue left.
So you need to do the surgery again because we need to remove tissue at least 9 mm from the melanoma(in some cases even 1.2 cm or 1.5 cm,your surgeon will decide),and in this case,another 9 mm from the scar because there used to be melanoma cells.
If you have any other question,don't hesitate to ask me.
Wishing you good health.
Dr.Endri Katro
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
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