How Does MMS Compare With Conventional Excision for Hand and Foot Melanomas?
Source: Dermatology Advisor, April 2025
Conventional excision (CE) of hand and foot melanomas is associated with increased rates of reconstruction with positive margins, repeat excisions, and longer time to reconstruction compared with Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS), according to study findings published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
The retrospective cohort study identified all patients with primary in situ and invasive melanoma on the hands and feet who were treated with CE or MMS at a single university center from February 14, 1994, to July 14, 2023.
The primary outcome was the rate of reconstruction with positive margins after initial treatment with CE or MMS, and other outcomes were repeat excision and time to definitive reconstruction. Positive margins for CE were defined here as melanoma extending to or within 1 mm of the inked surgical margin or melanoma that required re-excision, whereas positive margins for MMS was incomplete tumor clearance at the margins with discontinuation of MMS.