Mid-arm lymph nodes dissection for melanoma.

Abstract

An interval node in the upper limb termed the mid-arm node was recently identified. However, its surgical anatomy remains unclear. We report a patient with metastatic melanoma of the mid-arm node and the epitrochlear node at 10 years after removal of the primary tumour from the forearm and therapeutic axillary lymph node dissection. The mid-arm node is located halfway up the upper arm on the medial intermuscular septum, at the site where the brachial vessels, the median nerve and the ulnar nerve run adjacent to each other. The mid-arm node lies adjacent to the basilic vein where lymphatic vessels ascend and converge. This is the first report regarding the surgical anatomy of the mid-arm node.