A 21-year-old man came into our medical center to have a lesion on his thigh examined. He said the lesion developed a few months earlier at the site of minimal trauma. He noted that, over the previous few months, the lesion had progressively darkened and it bled sporadically. On examination, we noted a solitary 7.5-mm firm, blue-black verrucous papule over the right medial thigh (FIGURES 1A AND 1B). There were no other lesions.
The patient indicated that he had gotten sunburned many times in the past. He also said that he had an aunt who’d had a melanoma.
FIGURE 1 A lesion that bled sporadically
This papule on the medial aspect of the patient’s right thigh developed after minimal trauma to the area. The lesion had been getting progressively darker.
WHAT IS YOUR DIAGNOSIS? HOW WOULD YOU TREAT THIS PATIENT?
