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In Vivo Confocal Reflectance Microscopy of Congenital Melanocytic Nevi

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Reflectance Confocal Microscopy for Skin Diseases

Abstract

The presence of congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) is determined in utero. CMN are neural crest-derived malformations, composed mainly of a benign proliferation of melanocytes. The most common method for the classification of CMN is based upon nevus size. Small CMN are defined as smaller than 1.5 cm in diameter, medium-sized CMN are 1.5–19.9 cm, large CMN are over 20 cm in diameter, and very large (i.e., giant CMN) are over 50 cm in diameter. Rational for the size-based classification is that there is an increased risk of developing melanoma, a larger cosmetic impact and a greater surgical complexity with increasing size of CMN. In addition, large and giant CMN are often intermixed with various other neural crest-derived elements such as neural tissue and may be associated with extra-cutaneous malformations such as neurocutaneous melanocytosis, dandy-walker malformation, and vascular anomalies [1].

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Acknowledgment

We would like to thank Itay Klaz, MD, for his assistance in the preparation of the figures.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dermatology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Pantea Hashemi

  2. Dermatology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Suffolk, Hauppauge, NY, USA

    Ashfaq A. Marghoob

  3. Skin and Cancer Associates/ADM, Plantation, FL, USA

    Harold S. Rabinovitz

  4. Department of Dermatology, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Alon Scope

Authors
  1. Pantea Hashemi
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  2. Ashfaq A. Marghoob
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  3. Harold S. Rabinovitz
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  4. Alon Scope
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pantea Hashemi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie, Universitätsklinikum Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 8, Graz, 8036, Austria

    Rainer Hofmann-Wellenhof

  2. Dipto. Dermatología, Università de Modena y Reggio Emilia, Via del Pozzo 71, Modena, 41100, Italy

    Giovanni Pellacani

  3. Barcelona, Melanoma Unit, Hospital Clínic i Provincial de, C/ Villarroel 170, Barcelona, 08036, Spain

    Joseph Malvehy

  4. , Princess Alexandra Hospital, The University of Queensland School of, 199 Ipswich Road, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, 4102, Queensland, Australia

    Hans Peter Soyer

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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hashemi, P., Marghoob, A.A., Rabinovitz, H.S., Scope, A. (2012). In Vivo Confocal Reflectance Microscopy of Congenital Melanocytic Nevi. In: Hofmann-Wellenhof, R., Pellacani, G., Malvehy, J., Soyer, H. (eds) Reflectance Confocal Microscopy for Skin Diseases. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21997-9_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21997-9_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-21996-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-21997-9

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