Course: Sudden Development of Indurated Subcutaneous Nodules in a Patient With a Recent Melanoma Surgical Procedure
CME Credits: 1.00
Released: 2022-01-26
A woman in her 40s with a medical history of multiple sclerosis consulted for the sudden development of 2 adjacent nodules on the left arm. An excision with 1-cm margins of the left arm demonstrated desmoplastic melanoma with a Breslow thickness of 1 mm, and a left axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) had been performed 3 weeks before under general anesthesia. The patient was also being treated with subcutaneous interferon beta 1a for the multiple sclerosis. Physical examination revealed 2 indurated and mobile subcutaneous nodules on the anterior surface of the arm 5 cm distal to the surgical scar, the larger of them measuring 15 mm in diameter (, A) and the smaller of them measuring 4 mm. When the arm was abducted to 90°, the patient denied pain but described a subtle tightness sensation on the arm. An excisional biopsy from the larger lesion was performed (, B-D).
Educational Objective
Based on this clinical scenario and the accompanying image, understand how to arrive at a correct diagnosis.
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