[Pseudomelanoma following laser treatment or laser-treated melanoma?]

Abstract

Background: The increasing use of lasers for the removal of pigmented skin lesions has led to a growing risk of erroneously treated malignant melanocytic tumours.

Patients and methods: In two patients, both of whom developed a melanoma, the lesions were initially misdiagnosed clinically as a benign naevus and treated with laser vaporisation.

Results: On recurrence of the tumours, the diagnosis of melanoma was finally established by histological examination of the excised tumours in which differentiation from pseudomelanoma remained difficult.

Conclusions: In such cases of initially misdiagnosed melanomas, laser removal not only complicates and delays the correct diagnosis but might also worsen the prognosis after recurrence of an incompletely removed tumour.