CRYOSURGERY FOR LENTIGO-MALIGNA

Background: The need for treatment of lentigo maligna is related to th e cosmetic benefits and to the potential for malignant change. The usu al treatment is excision, but often lesional size or location preclude this. Objective: Our purpose was to show that cryosurgery is an effec tive alternative treatment modality for lentigo maligna. Methods: Thir ty white patients were treated with cryosurgery. The lesions ranged fr om 1.3 to 4.5 cm in diameter. Treatment consisted of freezing with liq uid nitrogen delivered by open spray. Results: The lesion recurred in two patients, yielding a recurrence rate of 6.6% during the average fo llow-up period of 3 years. The two recurrent lesions were successfully re-treated with cryosurgery. Eleven patients observed for more than 5 years showed no recurrence. Conclusion: Cryosurgery provides excellen t cosmetic and curative results. These results are favorably comparabl e to excisional surgery.