Late recurrence of malignant melanoma presenting as peritoneal "carcinomatosis"

Malignant melanoma is a relatively rare malignancy that arises from melanocytes and accounts for approximately 1% of all malignancies reported in the United States. Malignant melanoma can develop in any part of the skin or mucosal membranes. It metastasizes to all organs of the body and often demonstrates unpredictable metastatic behavior. Late recurrence of malignant melanoma, defined as occurring 10 or more years after diagnosis and treatment, is a rare but characteristic metastatic behavior of malignant melanoma. We present a case of a late recurrence of malignant melanoma presenting with diffuse peritoneal studding.