The utility of sentinel lymph node biopsy in head and neck melanoma in the pediatric population.

Intraoperative lymph node mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy have proven beneficial techniques in staging adult patients with melanoma of the head and neck, where there is great variability in lymphatic drainage. This technique has also been applied to pediatric patients with truncal cutaneous melanomas in an effort to determine nodal status without the morbidity associated with complete lymph node dissection. Nevertheless, the utility of sentinel lymph node biopsy in head and neck melanoma in the pediatric population has not been established.