In patients with palpably enlarged axillary lymph node metastases, the introduction of a complete lymphadenectomy, standardized according to the currently acknowledged principles of oncological surgery, improves local disease control without improving overall survival.

The present study addresses the question whether an extended ilioinguinal dissection as compared to an only superficial inguinal dissection improves survival and/or local tumour control after the appearance of palpable melanoma metastases to the groin. We retrospectively analysed the data of 104 patients with 69 ilioinguinal and 35 superficial inguinal dissections (median follow up 127 months). Prognostic factors of survival and groin recurrence were assessed using Kaplan-Meier estimation and Cox proportional hazards model. By multifactorial analysis, metastatic involvement of two lymph nodes or less was associated with a significantly better survival rate than involvement of > 2 or pelvic nodes (p = 0.0002). After radical ilioinguinal dissection, patients with extremity-located primaries had a better prognosis than patients with truncal primaries (p = 0.03). Tumour infiltration of the ilio-obturator compartment was found to be an independent factor of poor prognosis (p = 0.0009). The probability of recurrence in the dissected groin paralleled the number of positive nodes and significantly increased if intransits were observed (p = 0.0002). The extent of surgery, Breslow thickness, epidermal ulceration, sex, age and adjuvant chemotherapy neither significantly influenced survival nor local control rates. In summary, when metastatic inguinal nodes become palpable, the presence of pelvic metastases indicates systemic disease. After therapeutic groin dissection, local recurrence and survival depend rather on regional tumour burden than on the extent of surgery.

Acne inversa (synonyms are hidradenitis suppurativa, pyodermia fistulans sinifica) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the terminal hair follicles of the intertrigines. Abscesses and fistules develop mostly in both axillae, in the anogenital region, and under the breasts. The disease is common, but the right diagnosis is often missed. Local incision gives only a short relief of pain. The therapy of choice is wide local excision. We report on 12 patients with acne inversa who were surgically treated from 1991-1999 in our department. Surgical results and patient satisfaction were assessed on an average of 4.2 years. In all, 20 excisions in the axillae and 5 excisions anogenital were done. Seven patients were treated preoperatively with isotretinoin over at least 2 months. All patients could move their limbs without trouble. The cosmetic result was good in nine patients and three expressed dissatisfaction. Nine patients did not develop new lesions in the treated area. Three patients had new inflammations in both treated and previously uninvolved and therefore not resected regions. Wide local excision gives very good functional and cosmetic results. It usually heate long-lasting disease for nearly disabled patients. Isotretinoin reduces the disease activity and allows radical surgical treatment.

In a retrospective study, 73 stage-II melanoma patients with 22 superficial and 51 deep groin dissections were observed over a maximum of 9 years of follow up (median 67.5 months). The 5-year survival rate of 29.8% was consistent with that yielded by comparable analyses of other investigators. However, the probability of recurrence in the node dissection field was as high as 35%. All groin recurrences occurred in the first 29 months after lymph node clearance (median 6 months). Patients with groin recurrence following lymph-node dissection had a poor prognosis (median survival 12 months). In a multifactorial analysis (Cox model), the only prognostic factor of probability of recurrence was the development of regional in-transit cutaneous metastases (p = 0.0028). Factors that did not affect the appearance of recurrent metastases in the node dissection field were: site of primary melanoma, tumor thickness, epidermal ulceration, degree of lymph node involvement (p = 0.2) age, sex, degree of surgery (superficial or deep groin dissection) and adjuvant chemotherapy. Because regional in-transit cutaneous metastases mostly occur synchronously with groin recurrence or later, they are a typical concomitant phenomenon rather than a prognostic factor of recurrence.