The W-Plasty Serial Excision Method for Treating Medium Congenital Melanocytic Nevi: A Retrospective Analytical Study.

Background: Serial excision remains the most commonly used surgical procedure for treating congenital melanocytic nevus (CMN). It is critical to remove as much of the lesion as possible with each procedure to reduce the number of procedures and to shorten the treatment duration.
Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of W-plasty serial excision for the repair of postoperative CMN defects.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients with medium CMN was conducted from April 2018 to March 2022. Treatment options were divided into elliptical serial excision (10 cases) and W-plasty serial excision (10 cases).
Results: Follow-up occurred over 6 months. The number of elliptical excision procedures was 2 to 4 (mean 2.9). The scar-to-lesion length ratio was 1.5 to 2.0 (mean 1.7). The mean Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) score was 5.40 ± 0.42. The number of W-plasty excision procedures was 2 to 3 (mean 2.2). The scar-to-lesion length ratio was 1.2 to 1.5 (mean 1.4). The mean VSS score was 2.70 ± 0.26. W-plasty excision was superior to elliptical excision regarding the number of procedures and the effect on postoperative scars.
Conclusion: W-plasty serial excision can be considered a suitable option for the excision of medium CMN, leading to excellent results.
(Copyright © 2024 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)