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Nail Unit Melanoma Treated with Mohs Micrographic Surgery

Valdes Morales KL, Frankel D, Trifoi MD, et al.
Dermatologic Surgery (2025)

JC: June 2025

This study evaluated the use of Mohs micrographic surgery for the treatment of nail unit melanoma, analyzing surgical outcomes, margin clearance rates, and digit preservation. The findings supported Mohs as a tissue-sparing alternative to amputation for select nail unit melanomas.

Take-Home Messages

  • •Mohs surgery for nail unit melanoma can achieve complete margin clearance while potentially avoiding digit amputation.
  • •Careful patient selection and expertise in nail unit anatomy are essential for successful Mohs treatment of subungual melanoma.

Topic

Melanoma

Melanoma margins, SLNB, staging, Mohs for melanoma in situ

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Tumor Melanoma

Abstract

Nail unit melanoma (NUM) is increasingly treated with digit-sparing surgery, but few published case series describe Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) for NUM. To describe the surgical technique, local recurrence rates, and reconstruction method for a large series of NUM treated with MMS using melanoma antigen recognized by T cells-1 immunostaining. Biopsy-proven NUM treated with MMS-melanoma antigen recognized by T cells-1 were identified from a prospectively maintained database (2008-2023). Pr...

Literature review only. This summary is an editorial interpretation and may not reflect the complete findings of the original publication. Always refer to the full-text article for clinical decision-making.