Impact of Immediate Surgical Reconstruction Following Wide Local Excision of Malignant Head and Neck Melanoma

The role of surgical reconstruction following melanoma extirpation is well recognized. Although technical considerations depend on patient anatomy and surgeon preference, the optimal timing of reconstruction remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate clinical and oncologic outcomes in melanoma extirpation followed by immediate reconstruction.

We retrospectively identified patients who underwent immediate reconstruction following head and neck melanoma excision at our institution between January 2013 and December 2016. Demographic and clinical characteristics, operative variables, and outcome data were extracted.

Overall, 197 patients (male 70.6%) underwent excision followed by immediate reconstruction. Of the 70 patients with a history of cutaneous malignancy, 46 (65.7%) had a prior melanoma and 26 (37.1%) had 2 or more types of skin cancers. Of the 202 lesions resected, 138 (68.3%) were invasive, whereas 64 (31.7%) were in situ. The most frequent anatomic location involved was the cheek (34.2%), followed by scalp (31.2%). Reconstruction technique varied, with 116 (57.4%) lesions repaired by adjacent tissue transfer, 24 (11.9%) by full-thickness skin graft, 23 (11.4%) by complex primary closure, 17 (8.4%) by split-thickness skin graft, and 22 (10.9%) by more than 1 technique. On postoperative pathologic assessment, 2 patients had positive margins and 5 experienced local recurrence (mean follow-up: 2.3 years). In an unadjusted bivariate analysis, history of melanoma (P = 0.015) was significantly associated with local recurrence.

Reconstruction at time of excision is an oncologically safe approach for the management of patients with malignant melanoma. A prior history of melanoma may be associated with local recurrence.