Pedunculated malignant melanoma

BACKGROUND. The pedunculated melanoma is an unusual variant of nodular mela noma that presents a challenge in staging and management. OBJECTIVE. We discuss the clinical and histopathologic characteristics of a case of pedunculated melanoma and present a brief review of the literature . METHODS. Routine stain with hematoxylin and eosin was performed on tissue s pecimens. RESULTS. The pedunculated melanoma was excised. Sentinel lymph node dissect ion was performed and was negative for the presence of melanoma. CONCLUSIONS. Pedunculated melanoma is a rare type of melanoma. Conventional staging methods for melanoma may not be reliable in this type of tumor. Co mplete workup, possibly including sentinel lymph node dissection, should be performed in all patients with pedunculated melanomas.