Lentigo melanoma

Hi and welcome to the online community

I'm sorry to hear that you've been diagnosed with lentigo melanoma and it's natural to want to know what will happen.

This information from the British Association of Dermatologists tells you all about lentigo maligna melanoma including how it is treated. You will see that surgery is the main treatment and the surgeon will aim to remove all of the area including a margin of healthy tissue around the edge of it. It does say that sometimes a skin graft is required so I would assume that your dermatologist will refer you to a plastic surgeon to have it removed.

There is also a technique called Mohs surgery which is where the abnormal cells are taken away a layer at a time to ensure it is fully removed whilst trying to limit the size of the wound. However, this is a specialised procedure and in the UK is only carried out at certain hospitals. You might want to ask your dermatologist if this procedure would be suitable for you.

Do come back and let us know when you have a date for your operation 

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Thank you for your reply. Saw a plastic surgeon today who explained what you have said above the concerning thing is that the graft only had a 50/50% chance of taking is this usual do you know. Thanking you so much for your time xx operation could be on the 3rd of September x

Hi

I haven't had a skin graft and don't know whether the graft only having a 50% chance of taking is normal or not. I see that you have posted in ask a nurse and it will be interesting to see what the nurse has to say.

You could start a new thread in this group asking about the chance of a skin graft taking or not. What did the surgeon say that he would do if the graft didn't take?

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I had a skin graft to my leg and i was warned they sometimes fail and might have to be repeated. I wasnt given a percentage though. They just have to warn you of all the scenarios these days.

Hi sorry I didn’t get back to you before I see the surgeon again tomorrow to sign the consent form for the op etc. He said on y first visit he would just have to start all over again and if the mark showed that there was lentigo melanoma in the boarders the shoe procedure would have to start from scratch, I know Im lucky that it has been caught before it has become invasive but it is still very daunting thinking that it could al go wrong, but really trying to look on the positive side. Thanks for your reply will try to start a new thread not very good at these things my best regards