NURS 371 Lecture Notes - Lecture 34: Fluconazole, Etiology, Ciclosporin
Document Summary
Skin variations in light & dark skin (table 23-6) Biopsy: punch- takes a segment of tissue 2-6 mm in size. May require sutures afterwards: shave- shave the lesion off. No sutures: excisional- requires sutures, incisional- wedge shaped lesions that is too large to do excisional. Specimen labeled and collected then sent to lab. Need to inspect area daily sutures removed in 7-10 days. Tumors arise from melanocytes (cells that give skin color) Prognosis is related to the thickness of the tumor at the time of detection. The thicker the tumor, the poorer the prognosis. Can occur anywhere that there are melanocytes in the body- gi, lymph nodes, skin, etc. Sx: oftentimes occurs in existing nevi (oftentimes dysplastic nevi, women. Most common on lower legs, backs: men. Most common on trunk, head, neck: *early detection is key. D- diameter (6mm+ is large, size of pencil eraser) Tx: excisional biopsy, surgical excision- usually requires skin graft, chemotherapy, radiation.
