Longitudinal melanonychia

[angiep28]

I saw a dermatologist today for two distinct dark longitudinal lines present in my middle finger for two years.  (I am of mixed racial heritage, my mom is Italian and my dad was half black and half American Indian, and I am twenty-nine years old)  I do not take any medication, and I have not had any trauma to the nail.  He suggested that I undergo a nail biopsy to rule out subungual melanoma.  I spoke with my boss who is a vascular surgeon, and he feels that this biopsy is completely unnecessary, because of the high probability that it is just a mole in the nail matrix.  I am not sure what to do at this point, especially because the procedure is pretty invasive, and the entire nail will need to be removed.  Anyone else have any thoughts?

[sam479]

Ive got a similar condition on my toe, how was your outcome

[Rowena Santos, MD]

Hi,

How are you? It's been 9 months since your last post. Subungual melanoma is a specific type of melanoma that occurs under the nail bed more commonly in dark-skinned people. It is characterized by a dark colored stripe that runs along the length of the nail plate and not across the nail. The mere presence of a dark nail stripe is not necessarily melanoma. However, here are some signs that are usually connected to subungual melanoma such as Hutchinson's Sign , pigmentation in a single digit,  age 50 or older, occurs in the thumb, index finger, or great toe,  blurred borders or history of malignant melanoma.

Take care and do update us with what happened to your nail.