[Surgical treatment of malignant melanoma (author's transl)].

The primary lesion is widely excised under a general anesthetic. The resulting defect is covered by a free graft. Prophylactic lymph-node dissection seems to be reasonable for stage-I melanoma with deep invasion (microstage III-V) according to recent investigations. Stage II is an absolute indication. Stage III patients received an individual palliative therapy. The value of additional measures is not yet clearly defined.