CUTANEOUS MICROGRAPHIC SURGERY FOR ATYPICAL FIBROXANTHOMA

BACKGROUND. Atypical fibroxanthoma is a locally aggressive cutaneous t umor of the head and neck. Reported treatments include simple excision , cryosurgery, radiation, and cutaneous micrographic surgery. OBJECTIV E. We wish to further document the use of cutaneous micrographic surge ry for local control of atypical fibroxanthoma. METHODS. A retrospecti ve study of six cases from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a r eview of the literature. RESULTS. Five (84%) of our cases were on the heads of elderly patients with strong evidence of photodamage. Subclin ical extension of atypical fibroxanthoma required surgical margins ave raging 9 mm. Cutaneous micrographic surgery has been associated with n o recurrences. CONCLUSION. The results of our data demonstrate cutaneo us micrographic surgery to be an excellent modality to address this lo cally aggressive tumor. Cutaneous micrographic surgery is an advantage ous therapy for this tumor because of its meticulous tissue removal, t issue mapping, and tissue sparing qualities. (C) 1997 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc.