ABSTRACT
Chronic burn scars often cause various skin malignancies at rates of up to 2%. These lesions are usually squamous cell carcinomas, but rarely, malignant melanoma is reported. We report a 67-year-old male with a malignant melanoma on a burn scar with regional metastasis. This patient presented an ulcerative lesion only in 2 weeks. After histopathological diagnosis, we performed only palliative surgery on patient's demand, and followed up the subsequent deterioration course. Our case reemphasizes the need for rapid diagnosis and treatment when suspect lesions are present on chronic burn scar. Also, physician should be in mind and inform the patient about malignant melanoma and its aggressive course.
Subject(s)
Aged , Humans , Male , Burns , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell , Cicatrix , Diagnosis , Melanoma , Neoplasm Metastasis , Palliative Care , Skin , Skin Neoplasms , UlcerABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pyogenic granuloma (PG) is a benign vascular lesion of the mucosa and skin. Recent studies of the epidemiology of PG are rare. We aimed to retrospectively analyze characteristics of PG cases in South Korea. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 155 patients treated for PG between March 2005 and May 2014. The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.2 (70 males, 85 females). The mean age of patients was 35.3 years. RESULTS: A high occurrence was observed in the first and third decades in males, and the fourth to fifth decades in females. There was a statistically significant difference between genders according to age group (p<0.05). The average lesion diameter was 0.84±0.46 cm (long axis). The most frequently involved site was the face (n=47). Bleeding was the primary complication (n=41). PG was mostly treated with excisional biopsy (n=74). The recurrence rate was 7.7% (n=12). CONCLUSION: We concluded that most common site of PG was the face, the age of female with PG is higher than previous studies, and finger is associated with trauma more than other sites. The most recent epidemiological information on PG of this study will support the treatment and diagnosis of PG and future research objectives.