› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › Two questions — wide recision on leg
- This topic has 4 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 6 months ago by
QuietPoet.
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- July 25, 2017 at 6:44 am
Hello all,
Thanks for allowing a person who feels like they have cancer but "not quite" join the group! I appreciate your feedback even though I'm not going through the difficulties that many of you are.
I have a stage 1A (.3 mm) that's been biopsied and will have a wide excision in the 31st on my upper thigh. At the same time, I'll have a biopsy of a changed mole on my ankle.
I have two questions: 1) If melanoma cells show up in the margins of the wide excision, what does that mean? What happens next? 2) How much pain/difficulty did you find in recovering from a wide excision on your thigh and/or a biopsy on your ankle?
The biopsy on my thigh became infected somehow and it's been more painful than I thought it would be (there seems to be a very sensitive nerve near there) and it's really interfered with my ability to get excercise. I'm very worries how the wide excision will feel along with the ankle biospy (inside ankle) given that's a place that moves A LOT.
I'd appreciate any feedback from people who have had biopsies and/or wide excisions on their upper thighs and ankles. I have already read what's on the side related to ankles, but those mostly involved skin grafts. Fortunately, this should not, nor should it involve any lymph removal.
Thanks so much!
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- July 25, 2017 at 11:07 am
An answer to your question regarding the procedure on your ankle may be dependent on factors such as your age, whether you are diabetic, and related factors which may affect blood flow to the area. If you are middle aged / younger, healing will likely proceed at a normal pace, although the relative lack of tissue on the ankle may require limited movement to facilitate recovery and perhaps a tad more discomfort than in other more fleshy areas.
The thigh, with ample blood flow and tissue mass, should be the reverse of the above, with the exception that you will want to avoid motions which may stress the excision area; given the strength of the thigh muscles, sutures always lose (!).
Hope this helps.
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- July 26, 2017 at 6:38 pm
PS – if (observable, rather than micrometastases) occur in the margins following your procedure, the initial margins were inadequate and the site is resected to remove remaining cells. Your initial excision should therefor be wide enough so that a second procedure is not needed. Afterward, your surgical oncologist should be seen at regular intervals to check for recurrence at the original surgical site however simply because micrometastases may have remained. Once you receive the all clear, the frequency of follow up visits with your surgeon will likely be extended. Do NOT neglect to stay on a regular schedule with your dermatologist and do continue to perform periodic ABCDE self checks.
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Tagged: cutaneous melanoma
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