ABSTRACT
Polypoid melanoma represents a rare clinical variant of nodular melanoma skin cancer in which the tumor is connected to the skin by a pedicle, characterized by exophytic growth, ulceration, and young age at onset (20-39 years) with a special predilection for the back and with a survival rate at 5 years ranging from 32% to 42% as compared with 57% 5-year survival for nodular subtype and 77% for the superficial subtype. We present a case of a deeply pigmented polypoid melanoma arising on the face of a 77-year-old man. We performed a literature review to clarify its surgical management and prognosis.
Subject(s)
Facial Neoplasms/diagnosis , Melanoma/diagnosis , Skin Neoplasms/diagnosis , Aged , Diagnosis, Differential , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Melanoma-Specific Antigens/analysis , Neoplasm Invasiveness , Neoplasm Staging , Polyps/diagnosis , S100 Proteins/analysis , Skin Ulcer/diagnosis , gp100 Melanoma AntigenSubject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/surgery , Mammaplasty/methods , Surgery, Plastic/methods , Female , HumansABSTRACT
The standard management of degloving injuries involves either immediate grafting with the avulsed skin or full- or split-thickness grafts at a later date. Alternative methods include pedicle and free flaps and revascularisation. The authors present an innovative technique of treating degloving injuries with cryopreserved split-thickness skin grafts harvested from degloved flap, artificial dermal replacement and vacuum-assisted closure (VAC therapy). To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of such bilaminar reconstruction of a degloving injury.