› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Biopsy on heel of foot?
- This topic has 6 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 8 months ago by
Treadlightly.
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- August 4, 2014 at 6:06 pm
Hi everyone,
I posted recently about my son's mystery bump on his forehead. They think it's a cyst (can be felt under the skin) but will remove if it doesn't resolve. The new dark spot on his heel (about 1mm) she thinks looks atypical with dermatoscope so we will remove. She said a punch biopsy on the heel would be difficult and recommened a "scoop"… thoughts on this? This is for my 9 year old son. I'm normally adamant about punches, but I can see how it would be hard to keep together on his heel. She thinks atypical, not mel, but of course one never knows! Thanks!
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- August 5, 2014 at 2:01 am
There is a time and place for all biopsy methods and depending upon anatomy, a scoop may be the best choice. I prefer punches, too, but I would consider a scoop if that made the most sense given the anatomy. I'd say it would be unlikely to be melanoma, too, so would go with the scoop. That will be inconvenient enough to get healed.
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- August 9, 2014 at 10:03 pm
My heel biopsy was not a punch, but my doctor didn't describe it as a "scoop." He used a scalpel and carved out a sliver of tissue. My brown spot was much larger than your son's though and my doctor felt he wouldn't be able to get the entire spot out and still be able to close it. As it was, the stitches he put in didn't really close it the way you would hope, but it minimized the size of the wound which helped it to heal more quickly.
I hope it doesn't turn out to be melanoma. But if it does, it sounds like you are catching it very early.
In my case, I noticed a brown irregular blotch on my heel while in the shower, and just assumed I had stepped in grease somehow. It didn't wash off, but was much less evident when it was dry. I think this is because the layers of epidermis covering it were more translucent when wet. My lesion was never raised or ulcerated, just an irregular stip of brown the color of coffee (with cream) about the size and shape of a piece of Dentyne gum. My doctor was able to get about 3/4 of it with his biopsy excision.
Best of luck to you and your son.
Mark from California
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- August 9, 2014 at 10:03 pm
My heel biopsy was not a punch, but my doctor didn't describe it as a "scoop." He used a scalpel and carved out a sliver of tissue. My brown spot was much larger than your son's though and my doctor felt he wouldn't be able to get the entire spot out and still be able to close it. As it was, the stitches he put in didn't really close it the way you would hope, but it minimized the size of the wound which helped it to heal more quickly.
I hope it doesn't turn out to be melanoma. But if it does, it sounds like you are catching it very early.
In my case, I noticed a brown irregular blotch on my heel while in the shower, and just assumed I had stepped in grease somehow. It didn't wash off, but was much less evident when it was dry. I think this is because the layers of epidermis covering it were more translucent when wet. My lesion was never raised or ulcerated, just an irregular stip of brown the color of coffee (with cream) about the size and shape of a piece of Dentyne gum. My doctor was able to get about 3/4 of it with his biopsy excision.
Best of luck to you and your son.
Mark from California
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- August 9, 2014 at 10:03 pm
My heel biopsy was not a punch, but my doctor didn't describe it as a "scoop." He used a scalpel and carved out a sliver of tissue. My brown spot was much larger than your son's though and my doctor felt he wouldn't be able to get the entire spot out and still be able to close it. As it was, the stitches he put in didn't really close it the way you would hope, but it minimized the size of the wound which helped it to heal more quickly.
I hope it doesn't turn out to be melanoma. But if it does, it sounds like you are catching it very early.
In my case, I noticed a brown irregular blotch on my heel while in the shower, and just assumed I had stepped in grease somehow. It didn't wash off, but was much less evident when it was dry. I think this is because the layers of epidermis covering it were more translucent when wet. My lesion was never raised or ulcerated, just an irregular stip of brown the color of coffee (with cream) about the size and shape of a piece of Dentyne gum. My doctor was able to get about 3/4 of it with his biopsy excision.
Best of luck to you and your son.
Mark from California
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- August 5, 2014 at 2:01 am
There is a time and place for all biopsy methods and depending upon anatomy, a scoop may be the best choice. I prefer punches, too, but I would consider a scoop if that made the most sense given the anatomy. I'd say it would be unlikely to be melanoma, too, so would go with the scoop. That will be inconvenient enough to get healed.
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- August 5, 2014 at 2:01 am
There is a time and place for all biopsy methods and depending upon anatomy, a scoop may be the best choice. I prefer punches, too, but I would consider a scoop if that made the most sense given the anatomy. I'd say it would be unlikely to be melanoma, too, so would go with the scoop. That will be inconvenient enough to get healed.
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