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BackgroundLocal recurrence of lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM) and lentigo maligna (LM) continue to be challenging following surgical treatment and aftercare.ObjectivesTo investigate haematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemistry of the tumour margins of LM and LMM and evaluate the impact of these data on local recurrence.Materials & MethodsIn total, 489 tumours were included in this retrospective single-centre study, among them 199 (40.7%) LMs and 290 (59.3%) LMMs. All tumours were excised using micrographiccontrolled surgery. Additional immunohistochemistry staining of the tumour margins was performed in 35 specimens (7.2%).ResultsBased on haematoxylin-eosin staining alone, 82/454 tumours (18.1%) were shown to develop local recurrence compared to 3/35 tumours (8.6%) when additional immunohistochemistry was performed.ConclusionFollowing micrographic-controlled surgery, the additional use of immunohistochemistry of tumour margins of LM/LMM reduced the risk of local recurrence, although this was not statistically significant.