Abstract
Surgical treatment of malignant melanoma and other skin tumors has recently become less extensive, and sentinel node biopsies have been performed in many institutions particularly to determine the need for lymphadenectomy. Previously, a simple method with dye was often used to identify lymph nodes. In recent years, however, the usefulness of a combination method with dye and radioisotopes (RI) has been reported. Since April of 2002, we have also successfully used the combination of dye and RI. This combination allows accurate identification of sentinel nodes and effective determination of surgical sites in cases of primary tumors on the head or neck with complex lymphatic drainage, primary tumors on the trunk with multiple regional lymph nodes, or tumors with interval or aberrant nodes. Herein, we review the results of dye-and RI-guided sentinel node biopsies in patients with malignant melanoma and report their usefulness.
