Case series: Rapidly growing squamous cell carcinoma after cutaneous surgical intervention

• Published in: JPRAS open Vol. 14; no. C; pp. 27 - 32
• Main Authors: Ibrahim, Abdullah, Moisidis, Elias
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 01.12.2017
• Subjects: Angiogenesis; Graft donor site; Inflammation; Split thickness skin graft; Squamous cell carcinoma; Surgical intervention
• ISSN: 2352-5878; 2352-5878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpra.2017.08.004

The development of squamous cell carcinoma in sites of split skin graft harvest is a rare complication with only 12 documented cases in the literature. The growth of squamous cell carcinoma after arterial puncture is a rarer phenomenon, with no previous cases documented. This series describes two cases. The first case is of a 70-year-old male who developed rapidly growing squamous cell carcinoma in a graft donor site, 9 weeks after split skin graft repair of pretibial squamous cell carcinoma excision. The second case is of an 84-year-old male who developed a large exophytic squamous cell carcinoma in the right wrist that developed 5 months after radial artery puncture. This case series explores the various mechanisms of de-novo squamous cell carcinoma development in areas of cutaneous surgical intervention, including graft harvest. It also provides recommendations regarding the necessary precautions to avoid implantation of squamous cell carcinoma into distant sites. Lastly it highlights the importance of surveillance for any suspicious lesions arising from areas of previous cutaneous surgical intervention.