Complications in the surgical treatment of pediatric melanoma

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize the complications associated with surgical treatment of pediatric melanoma. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all pediatric patients who received surgical treatment for melanoma at our institution between 1992 and 2010. We compared complications between three groups: wide local excision only (WLE), WLE and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), and WLE and completion lymph node dissection (CLND). Results: One hundred twenty-five patients were identified: 37 patients received WLE only, 47 received WLE and SLNB, and 41 patients had WLE and CLND. Complication rates differed between the three groups: 19% in WLE, 11% in WLE + SLNB, and 39% in WLE + CLND (P = .006). The risk of complications was significantly lower among patients having WLE + SLNB versus WLE + CLND (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.06-0.57, P = .0032). Lymphedema was a common complication with a higher incidence in the CLND group compared to the SLNB group (19.5% vs. 2.1%, P = .01). Complications were more frequent in inguinal compared to axillary dissections (52.0% vs. 17.1%, P = .006). Conclusions: In the surgical treatment of pediatric melanoma, the addition of a completion lymph node dissection significantly increases complication risk. Thus, it is critical to determine which patients truly benefit from this procedure. (c) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.