Patients' perceptions of the cosmetic impact of melanoma resection

This study investigated the relationship between primary versus grafted closure for melanoma and the cosmetic impact on the patient of the resulting scar. A total of 176 patients with melanoma completed a multiple-choice questionnaire designed for this study. Two factors were significantly related to negative cosmetic impact: severity of scar indentation (but not scar length) and the extent to which patients were unprepared for the actual size of their scars. Patients whose scars were deeply indented as well as those whose scars were larger than anticipated displayed greatest distress about their appearance. Cosmetic impact was greater for women than for men. These observations suggest that primary closures, rather than closures requiring skin grafts, have important psychological benefits for patients and that physicians can assist postoperative adjustment by giving patients accurate information about the expected appearance of their scars.