Patterns and Trends in Immediate Postmastectomy Reconstruction in California: Complications and Unscheduled Readmissions.

Background: Immediate reconstruction rates after mastectomy are increasing but remain low. Little is known about hospital readmissions after these procedures. The authors studied unscheduled readmissions after immediate reconstruction.

Predicting sentinel node status in AJCC stage I/II primary cutaneous melanoma.

Background: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) status is an important prognostic factor for survival for patients with primary cutaneous melanoma. To address the issue of selecting patients at high and low risk for a positive SLN, prognostic factors were sought that predict SLN involvement by examining characteristics of both the primary tumor and the patient within the context of a biological model of melanoma progression.

Methods: The study included 682 patients with primary vertical growth phase (VGP) melanoma and no clinical evidence of metastatic disease who underwent SLN biopsy (1995-2003).