Malignant melanoma metastasis to the sentinel node in the popliteal fossa

Malignant melanoma metastasis to regional nodes is a well-recognised clinical event. Increasingly, sentinel lymph-node biopsy is being advocated for diagnostic and prognostic purposes. The lymphatic spread of tumour from the lateral aspect of the lower leg and foot is classically described as draining directly to the groin. We discuss the role of lymphoscintigraphy and popliteal dissection with reference to a recent case of a patient with a malignant melanoma at the level of the lateral malleolus that was shown to drain directly to a sentinel node in the popliteal fossa.