IT IS NOW generally appreciated that the treatment of operable malignant melanoma is surgical. However, there is still much uncertainty about some of the details of surgical treatment. For instance, when one excises a malignant melanoma, how wide should the excision be? Should one dissect the regional lymph nodes in all cases of melanoma of the skin or only in those cases in which the nodes seem to contain metastases? Should an amputation be done in preference to wide excision in treating melanoma of the extremities? In an attempt to crystallize our ideas regarding some of these questions, we have recently reviewed the cases seen at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, Ill., prior to July, 1948.
MATERIAL STUDIED
The diagnosis of malignant melanoma was made in 294 cases between December, 1930, and July, 1948. However, material was available for microscopic study in only 248 of these cases. This tissue was