Desmoid tumors of the right rectus abdominus muscle in postpartum women.

Background: Desmoid tumors are benign neoplasms that most often arise from muscle aponeurosis and have been associated with both trauma and pregnancy. The etiology of desmoids has not been determined.

Clinical Characteristics: We present here four almost identical cases with desmoids occurring in the same location, the right rectus abdominus muscle in young post partum females.

Size of sentinel node metastases predicts other nodal disease and survival in malignant melanoma.

Background: A positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is an indication for completion lymph node dissection (CLND) in malignant melanoma; however, most CLNDs are negative. We hypothesized SLN metastatic size of < or =2 mm would predict CLND status and prognosis.

Methods: We evaluated 80 consecutive patients undergoing CLND for positive SLNs over a 10-year period.