Our experience with operative treatment of malignant melanoma

The result of studies of the series of patients with a malignant melanoma operated on radically and non-radically in our region was extended to include the time period from 1975 to 1983 and the new findings confirmed the results of our first study from 1983. No difference in the survival rate was found between the groups of radically and non-radically operated patients. The radicalness of the excision of a primary tumour does not influence the time of survival of the patients. This was also confirmed by the evaluation of the series of patients operated only with the non-radical method at our department during the recent years. On the basis of the results obtained within these 29 years in a series of 1800 patients with a malignant melanoma we recommend to perform the surgical treatment of a primary malignant melanoma with the use of a non-radical excision.