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Case report
When acral malignant melanoma facades as diabetic foot!
  1. Zainab Akram Yousif Yasear1,
  2. Lynda Bloomer2,
  3. Roshan Siddique3 and
  4. Haroon Siddique2
  1. 1Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry, UK
  2. 2Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley, West Midlands, UK
  3. 3School of Medicine, St George's University of London, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Zainab Akram Yousif Yasear; zainab.akram.1984{at}gmail.com

Abstract

An 85-year-old Indian man presented with non-healing foot ulcer over the left heel. There was initial response to wound size with standard treatment including offloading, debridement and antibiotic therapy. However, subsequently, there was no progress noted. Incidentally, two small black spots in the wound bed raised the suspicion of melanoma. Incisional biopsy confirmed acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM). The final diagnosis was ALM coexisting with diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). The wound was treated by surgical resection and flap reconstruction that resulted in complete healing. Fourteen months after the initial intervention, the patient developed a new lump and ulceration around the previous wound bed. This turned out to be recurrent disease with distant metastasis. The patient died eventually with palliative support. Through this case, we would like to highlight the importance of early biopsy and intervention in DFU especially for those wounds with atypical presentation or refractory to standard treatment.

  • skin cancer
  • plastic and reconstructive surgery
  • diabetes
  • dermatology
  • skin

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2021-242918

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors ZAYY: was behind the main idea and the body of the case report including the learning points. LB and RS helped with the referencing and discussion. HS: revised the case report and adjusted it according to what seemed appropriate.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.