Abstract
We presented a case of popliteal lymph node dissection. The patient was a 43-year-old man who had a history of surgery for melanoma on his right thigh. We recognized the metastatic lymph node on his right popliteus after his first surgery, which was the dissection of the original tumor and groin lymph node dissection. We planned a popliteal lymph node dissection. A popliteal leision is narrow and deep. There are popliteal vessels, a tibial nerve and another motor branch of muscles. It is unique in that it has a three dimensional structure. The point of dissection is to excise en bloc and keep the motor nerves. It is necessary to plan a nerve graft if some motor nerves are cut off. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2005; 20: 23-26]
