RT Book, Section
A1 Balch, Charles M.
A1 Balch, Glen C.
A1 Thompson, John F.
A2 Morita, Shane Y.
A2 Balch, Charles M.
A2 Klimberg, V. Suzanne
A2 Pawlik, Timothy M.
A2 Posner, Mitchell C.
A2 Tanabe, Kenneth K.
SR Print(0)
ID 1145755839
T1 Biopsy and Definitive Excision of Primary Cutaneous Melanomas
T2 Textbook of Complex General Surgical Oncology
YR 2018
FD 2018
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071793315
LK accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1145755839
RD 2024/04/20
AB A  skin  lesion  that  is  suspicious  for  melanoma  is  best  removed  by  excisional  biopsy  with  a  1-  to  2-mm  clinical  lateral  margin  and  a  deep  margin  into  the  subcutaneous  fat,  underneath  all  epithelial  appendageal  structures.1  This  can  be  performed  on  most  lesions  up  to  1.5  cm  in  diameter  (Fig.  13-1).  The  biopsy  scar  should  be  oriented  to  be  compatible  with  a  subsequent  wide  local  excision  should  the  lesion  prove  to  be  melanoma.  On  the  extremities  a  longitudinal  or  oblique  incision  is  preferred.  On  the  trunk  or  the  head  and  neck  the  biopsy  should  be  oriented  parallel  to  the  skin  lines.  A  full-thickness  biopsy  should  be  undertaken  in  order  to  accurately  interpret  the  maximum  tumor  thickness,  the  presence  or  absence  of  ulceration,  and  the  level  of  invasion.1