Cryosurgery for lentigo maligna.

Abstract

The need for treatment of lentigo maligna is related to the cosmetic benefits and to the potential for malignant change. The usual treatment is excision, but often lesional size or location preclude this. Our purpose was to show that cryosurgery is an effective alternative treatment modality for lentigo maligna. Thirty white patients were treated with cryosurgery. The lesions ranged from 1.3 to 4.5 cm in diameter. Treatment consisted of freezing with liquid nitrogen delivered by open spray. The lesion recurred in two patients, yielding a recurrence rate of 6.6% during the average follow-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. Cryosurgery provides excellent cosmetic and curative results. These results are favorably comparable to excisional surgery.