Cutaneous malignant melanoma of the oral cavity following skin graft reconstruction: Case report.

Abstract

Malignant melanomas on skin graft recipient sites are rare, with few cases reported in the literature. We present a case report of a patient with recurrent cutaneous melanoma in the grafted anterolateral thigh flap of the tongue. A patient underwent hemiglossectomy with free flap reconstruction for squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Five years later the patient was seen with a 1-cm nodule and surrounding erythroplakia at the recipient site of the graft. Analysis revealed cutaneous malignant melanoma. Patient then related a remote history of a suspected skin melanoma of the donor leg that had been treated with excision, with unknown histology. This may be the first reported case of a cutaneous malignant melanoma in the oral cavity following an anterolateral thigh free flap reconstruction, emphasizing the importance of obtaining a comprehensive history of skin cancers and closely inspecting the donor site prior to graft harvesting.