Conjunctival melanomas in The Netherlands: a follow-up study.

In a follow-up study of 45 conjunctival melanoma patients the recurrence rate after local excision was 80% but the mortality rate due to metastasis was low, only 2 out of 25 cases in which the recurrences could be controlled by repeated local excisions. In the 18 cases in which exenteration was required, because of the unfavorable localization of the melanoma or repeated recurrences, the mortality rate due to metastatic disease (7 out of 18) was high.