30 year old woman with changing mole

This 30 yo woman has noticed an enlarging pigmented lesion in her right axilla for almost a year. Her mother, a registered nurse, asked her to see a dermatologist. Her husband did not notice it.The patient has Type II skin. The general cutaneous exam was unremarkable save for a 1.2 cm in diameter barely elevated plaque. There is a play of pigment and outline is irregular.An excisional biopsy was performed.Pathology: Malignant melanoma in situ...

Read More

Positive Band Aid Sign

Most dermatologists know about the "positive band aid sign." To me, it means a skin cancer has been lurking there for a while.This 82 yo man came in with a one year history of a "sore" on his back. The drainage stained his shirt. When the band aid was removed, there was a one cm in diameter clean friable tumor, most likely a basal cell. The lesion was shave biopsied and desicated and curetted. I'll affix a copy of the biopsy report when I get...

Read More