ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Aberrant lymphatic drainage is believed to contribute to the high recurrence rate of head and neck melanomas. The purpose of this study was to identify the clinical significance of unexpected lymphatic drainage patterns. METHODS: A single institution retrospective analysis was performed of middle-aged and older men (mean age, 66.2 years; range, 41-87 years) who underwent successful lymphoscintigraphy with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) from 1997 through 2012. Node status, distribution, and recurrence were assessed comparing patients with expected and unexpected drainage patterns. RESULTS: Sixty-six patients were identified with 55.8 months median follow-up (range, 5.6-206.1 months). Unexpected sentinel lymph node drainage was associated with multiple basin drainage (p < .01) and greater recurrence after negative SLNB (p = .03). Both groups had similar anatomic distribution, sentinel lymph node sampling, histopathologic characteristics, follow-up, and survival. CONCLUSION: Lymphatic drainage differing from expected patterns is associated with greater recurrence after negative SLNB in middle-aged and older men. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E754-E760, 2016.