Desmoplastic melanoma (or is it merely cicatrix?) arising at the site of biopsy within a conventional melanoma: pitfalls in the diagnosis desmoplastic melanoma.

We describe a case in which a "punch biopsy" specimen of a conventional melanoma on the cheek of a 25-year-old man led to a problem in differentiating a desmoplastic malignant melanoma from cicatrix. The circumstances of this case raise the issue of whether desmoplastic melanoma can arise at the site of trauma within a pre-existing melanoma.