Reducing block sampling in wide local excisions for melanoma C. Fives * , C.C.B.B. Heffron * Cork University Hospital, Dept. of Histopathology, Ireland Objective: It is established practice that wide local excision (WLE) is undertaken for the further management of cutaneous melanoma, however, definitive guidelines for macroscopic sampling have not been established. Our aim was to determine whether our sampling of WLE specimens was adequate, inadequate or excessive and to establish guidelines for these specimens. Method: 128 cases which underwent initial biopsy and subsequent WLE in 2010 were identified. We recorded the specimen size, macroscopic appearance, number of blocks sampled and margins of the original biopsy. Results: There was wide variation in the number of blocks sampled (range 1-27). Residual melanoma was identified in 7 of the cases (9.4 %) which had clear margins on the original biopsy. Of these, 4 had evidence of a pigmented lesion on macroscopic examination. The remaining 3 cases had margins of 1 mm or less on the original excision. No subsequent surgery was performed on these cases. Conclusion: Our study has shown that in WLE specimens with no evidence of a macroscopic lesion and in which margins of the original biopsy were clear by greater than 1 mm, little is to be gained from extensive sampling. Reduced sampling would result in saving laboratory resources with a predicted 49 % block reduction in our laboratory alone.