The role of supraorbital nerve biopsy in cutaneous XXXX of the periocular region.

@entity1 @entity5 @entity957 @entity189 @entity3
PURPOSE: To describe clinical situations in which a biopsy or resection of the supraorbital nerve may play a role in @entity1 in whom @entity3 secondary to cutaneous head and @entity5 is suspected. METHODS: The clinical records of 230 @entity1 with @entity957 ( @entity957 ) of the skin of the head and neck who were treated at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson @entity5 Center between April 1994 and March 2001 were reviewed. Thirty-five @entity1 were identified as having primary lesions on the forehead skin. Of these, 8 @entity1 had microscopic or clinical evidence of @entity3 . Four of these 8 @entity1 had undergone a supraorbital nerve biopsy or resection in the course of their treatment. Although all 4 @entity1 were classified as having had @entity957 , 1 @entity1 had a variant of undifferentiated @entity957 that more appropriately should have been classified as @entity189 . The clinical history was reviewed in each case. The median follow-up time for this cohort was 47 months (range, 24 to 72 months). RESULTS: The 4 cases reported here illustrate that a supraorbital nerve biopsy can help confirm the diagnosis of @entity3 , identify the extent of @entity5 infiltration, and help in staging of particularly aggressive cutaneous @entity5 of the periocular region. Access to the proximal (orbital) portion of the nerve can be accomplished through an anterior orbitotomy. CONCLUSIONS: A biopsy of the peripheral branches of the trigeminal nerve may be indicated as part of the staging or to confirm the diagnosis of @entity3 in @entity1 with @entity957 or other locally aggressive cutaneous @entity5 of the head and neck.
