Delayed harvesting of sentinel lymph nodes after previous wide local excision of extremity melanoma.
BACKGROUND
Harvesting the sentinel lymph node (SLN) is important in the management of patients with primary cutaneous melanoma. Selective sentinel lymphadenectomy (SSL) is generally performed at the time of wide local excision (WLE). The aim of our study was to determine whether delayed SSL is useful in detecting micrometastasis to the regional basin in patients with previous WLE of an extremity melanoma.


METHODS
Of 203 patients with a primary melanoma site located on the upper or lower extremity seen at the University of California, San Francisco/Mount Zion Melanoma Center from May 17, 1994, to March 23, 1999, 24 patients had a WLE of their extremity melanoma with adequate margins before referral. SSL was performed to assess micrometastasis in the regional lymph node basin after preoperative lymphoscintigraphy.


RESULTS
At least 1 SLN was identified in all 24 patients. At a median follow-up of 3 years, two patients showed micrometastasis in the SLNs. One of these two patients developed recurrence, and all remaining patients showed no evidence of disease.


CONCLUSIONS
Although it is generally advised that WLE should be performed simultaneously with SSL, delayed SSL after WLE of an extremity melanoma can still provide valuable staging information, which is critical for management of the patient.
Leong
Stanley P L
SP
Department of Surgery, Melanoma Center, University of California, San Francisco Medical Center at Mount Zion, San Francisco, California, USA. leongs@surgery.ucsf.edu
Thelmo
Marylou C
MC
Kim
Robert P
RP
Gokhale
Rahul
R
Rhee
Jennifer Y
JY
Achtem
Theodore A
TA
Morita
Eugene
E
Allen
Robert E
RE
Kashani-Sabet
Mohammed
M
Sagebiel
Richard W
RW
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005121:Extremities / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery