Diagnostic excision of the Rosenmüller's node. Screening for occult metastases before elective regional lymph node dissection in patients with lower limb melanoma?

Elective radical groin dissection was performed on 297 consecutive patients with high-risk melanoma of the leg, Anderson Stages I, IIA, IIIA. By separate histologic examination of the so-called "Rosenmüller's node," the other inguinal, and the external iliac lymph nodes, the diagnostic excision of the Rosenmüller's node was tested as a suitable mode of screening for metastases before a planned elective regional lymph node dissection. Eighty patients (27%) presented with what was histologically determined to be occult groin metastases. Rosenmüller's node was involved in 30 of these cases; in the remaining 50, however, it was not affected; that is, 63% of the cases were false-negative. Thus, the involvement of Rosenmüller's node is not representative of metastases in the other ilioinguinal lymph nodes, but is rather a matter of chance. In women with superficial spreading melanoma the rate of occult lymph node metastases was significantly lower than that in men with melanomas of the other type. Iliac lymph node involvement was observed in 18 patients (22%) depending on clinical stage and depth of invasion of the primary tumor.