Abstract

Balloon cell melanoma, a rare form of malignant melanoma, is characterized by nests and sheets of large cells that exhibit an abundant quantity of clear or finely vacuolated cytoplasms. Balloon cell degeneration could be formed by primary or metastatic malignant melanoma. A 52 year-old woman applied to surgery clinic with a non-healing wound in the dorsal skin of left middle finger. Six months after the resection of the lesion, the patient was referred to our clinic with recurrence in the same area. Excision and skin grafting were performed and the lesion was reported as balloon cell melanoma. Due to the rarity of this malignant melanoma type, clinical and histopathological diagnostic difficulties, the patient is worthy of presentation.

Key words: Malignant melanoma, diagnostic difficulty, balloon cell malignant melanoma