Cutaneous melanoma extirpated with insufficient surgical margins

A major controversy in the treatment of melanoma is the width of the surgical margin necessary for complete excision. We have reviewed the case histories of 1125 patients at the Melanoma Unit of the Dermatology Department of the San Cecilio Clinical Hospital in Granada from 1988 to 2000. The first aim was to verify whether there is a statistically significant correlation between occupied margins and other prognosis factors. We also analyse the situation after re-excising the scar from the previous extirpation with a minimum margin of 1 cm.