PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - A Fries
AU  - I Higginson
TI  - “Hitting the nail on the head”
AID  - 10.1136/emj.2006.041061
DP  - 2007 Jan 01
TA  - Emergency Medicine Journal
PG  - e3--e3
VI  - 24
IP  - 1
4099  - http://emj.bmj.com/content/24/1/e3.short
4100  - http://emj.bmj.com/content/24/1/e3.full
SO  - Emerg Med J2007 Jan 01; 24
AB  - Subungual malignant melanoma is a rare form of malignancy that can present at an advanced stage. We describe a case that was diagnosed after a presentation to the emergency department for a traumatic injury of the affected area. Initial presentations of malignant disease and its complications form a relatively low proportion of the caseload of emergency doctors. In this case, a patient presented after a minor injury that had failed to recover; subsequent investigation of this injury led to the diagnosis of subungual malignant melanoma in an otherwise asymptomatic patient. This is a rare case which presented in an atypical fashion, with a confounding history of minor trauma. It is presented to highlight the differential diagnosis of destructive bone lesions.