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  • Title: Perioperative confocal microscopy of the nail matrix in the management of in situ or minimally invasive subungual melanomas.
    Author: Debarbieux S, Hospod V, Depaepe L, Balme B, Poulalhon N, Thomas L.
    Journal: Br J Dermatol; 2012 Oct; 167(4):828-36. PubMed ID: 22676506.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Although dermoscopy of the nail plate is helpful to discriminate between benign and malignant causes of nail pigmentations, there remain ambiguous cases in which a matricial biopsy is required. When a subungual melanoma is diagnosed histopathologically, a complementary surgical treatment is performed secondarily, the duration of postoperative disability being accordingly prolongated. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the feasibility of an intraoperative diagnosis by reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Our series included nine consecutive patients who underwent a matricial biopsy for an acquired melanonychia (one benign lentigo and eight melanomas). RCM examination was performed in vivo on the nail matrix after reclination of the nail plate, and/or ex vivo on the fresh tissue biopsy. RCM data were compared with histopathology. RESULTS: There was a good correlation between confocal and histopathological features. Seven melanoma cases were unequivocally diagnosed intraoperatively according to the confocal features, whereas the lentigo was correctly classified as a benign lesion according to RCM. The remaining lesion could not be unequivocally classified by RCM and corresponded histopathologically to an early melanoma that required immunostaining to be diagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative RCM examination of the nail matrix is an efficient diagnostic approach of melanonychia striata that permits an extemporaneous diagnosis of malignancy and therefore a one-step surgical treatment of in situ or minimally invasive melanoma, reducing dramatically the duration of postoperative disability.
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