[Full thickness skin grafts obtained from the skin overlying sentinel nodes]

Surgical treatment of skin melanoma with skin margins in accordance with tumor thickness often necessitates covering the surgical defect with full or partial thickness skin grafts. When selective sentinel node biopsy is indicated, traditional procedures require 3 incisions: 1 in the region of the primary tumor covered by the graft, 1 in the axilla or groin corresponding to the site of the selective sentinel lymph node biopsy, and 1-almost always the most uncomfortable-in the donor site for the skin graft.

We present 10 patients attended in our department who underwent an alternative technique to reduce the number of wounds. A full thickness skin graft was obtained from the axillary or inguinal region covering the sentinel node.

Sentinel node biopsy was positive in 1 patient, who subsequently underwent inguinal lymphadenectomy. Only 1 mild postoperative complication was reported in a patient with partial graft loss. The mean hospital stay was 6.2 days. After follow-up ranging from 11 to 56 months, no local recurrences or metastases had been detected. CONCLUSION. The technique we present has the advantage of further simplifying surgical treatment for melanoma. It reduces the problems associated with sentinel node dissection by affording a wider access and is also associated with less morbidity.