Plastic surgery in the treatment of primary melanoma of the skin

Abstract

Surgery is still the most effective treatment modality of skin melanoma. The margins of excision are determined by the thickness of primary tumor. From January 1999 to December 2001, 99 patients (57 male and 42 female, of the average age 55), were surgically treated at the Clinic for Plastic Surgery and Burns of the Military Medical Academy. The most usual localization of the primary tumor was the back (23.23%), followed by the forearm, and the lower leg. Regarding the clinical type of the melanoma, nodular melanoma dominated (62.62%). Microscopic staging of the melanoma (classification according to Clark and Breslow), showed that the majority of patients already suffered from the advanced primary disease, which called for radical excision and the choice of reconstructive methods in the closure of post-excision defects. The reconstructive plastic surgical methods enabled the closure of post-excision tissue defects, regardless of their size, structure, and localization. During the closure of post-excision defects, direct wound closure or split skin draft was performed in 76.76% of patients. Flaps were applied in 19.19% of patients with the primary melanoma of the head, face foot, and hand. The sufficiency of the available reconstructive procedures makes plastic surgery irreplaceable in the surgical treatment of the primary melanoma of the skin.