This study has analyzed the incidence of in transit/local recurrences (IT/LR) in melanoma patients after sentinel node (SLN) biopsy; completion lymph node dissection (CLND) that was performed due to positive node; and therapeutic LND (TLND) due to clinically detected node metastases and factors influencing IT/LR. Between May 1995 and May 2004, 1187 consecutive patients underwent SLN biopsy (median Breslow thickness 2.5 mm) and 224 of them had subsequent CLND. During the same time period, 306 patients had TLND (median Breslow 3.9 mm). The excision margin of primaries was > or =1cm. At median follow-up time of 37.5 months, we analyzed the incidence of IT/LR as the first site of relapse and clinicopathological parameters affecting these recurrences. In SLN-negative cases, IT/LR as the site of the first recurrence were rare (46/963; 4.8%) and; in SLN+/-CLND IT/LR were detected in 45/224 cases (20.1%). IT/LR in SLNB group correlated with presence of SLN metastases (P<0.0001), higher Breslow thickness (P<0.001) and lower extremity localization (P=0.03). In TLND group, IT/LR were observed in 52/306 patients (17%), which is similar to all CLND patients (P=0.3), but less common when analyzing only patients who relapsed (TLND: 52/209 (24.9%) vs. CLND: 45/121 (37.2%); P=0.02). Estimated 3-year overall survival (from the date of relapse) in IT/LR only patients was better than in other types of relapses after LND (29% vs. 8%; P<0.0001). IT/LR incidence in the entire group of SLN+/-CLND patients was similar to that observed in TLND patients and it was affected by presence of nodal metastases, Breslow thickness and lower extremity location.