title: Synchronous metastatic omental melanoma and colonic adenocarcinoma: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malignant melanoma is a rare malignancy of the skin with very high mortality rates. Distal metastases are common especially to other areas of the skin, subcutaneous tissues lungs or liver. There are no previously reported cases of skin melanoma metastasizing to the omentum.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 62 year-old white British man with a past medical history of a malignant melanoma of the skin underwent a laparotomy for a partially obstructing sigmoid tumour. Intra-operatively, a round, smooth textured black lesion was identified on the anterior surface of the omentum; the nodule was confirmed to be a metastatic malignant melanoma with abundant brown pigment and a focal necrotic area.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A metastatic malignant melanoma was discovered incidentally on the omentum during a laparotomy for bowel obstruction. The significance of this is unclear but it is possible that the omentum may have played a protective role in limiting its spread systemically.
authors.affiliation: North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, Sterling Way, London, N18 1QX, UK. halkiascj@gmail.com.|Division of Surgery and Interventional Science 9th Floor, Royal Free Hospital, University College London, Pond Street, London, NW3 2QG, UK. halkiascj@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Constantine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Halkias
authors.affiliation: North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, Sterling Way, London, N18 1QX, UK. jakesloane@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jake
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sloane
authors.affiliation: North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, Sterling Way, London, N18 1QX, UK. m.ben-gashir@nhs.net.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ben-Gashir
authors.affiliation: North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, Sterling Way, London, N18 1QX, UK. garethbashir@nhs.net.
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bashir
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000150:complications*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009852:Omentum / Q000473:pathology*; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis