['In melanoma patients, we define incomplete sentinel node biopsy (I-SNB) as when fewer lymph nodes are removed during sentinel node biopsy (SNB) than identified on preoperative lymphoscintigraphy (LS). This study quantifies the frequency of I-SNB and evaluates any correlation with patient outcomes.', 'Evaluation of a prospective database of consecutive patients having LS and negative SNB from 1996 to 2006. Additional LS information was obtained from a nuclear medicine database. All statistical analyses were performed using the IBM SPSS Statistic 19.0 software package.', 'I-SNB occurred in 20% of the cohort (n\xa0=\xa02007). For axillary (n\xa0=\xa0895), groin (n\xa0=\xa0569), and neck/axial patients (n\xa0=\xa0334) I-SNB occurred in 12%, 26%, and 28% of cases, respectively (P\xa0<\xa0.001). On univariate analysis, there was a significant association between I-SNB and worse disease-free survival (DFS), P\xa0=\xa0.007 and trend toward worse melanoma-specific survival (MSS), P\xa0=\xa0.056. I-SNB was not associated with worse regional recurrence-free survival (RRFS), P\xa0=\xa0.144. There was no relationship between I-SNB and worse DFS, RRFS, or MSS on multivariate analysis. Sentinel node region (axilla better than groin and neck/axial) had a significant association with RRFS (P\xa0=\xa0.039) on univariate analysis and DFS on univariate (P\xa0=\xa0.009) and multivariate analysis. Significantly worse outcomes for MSS, DFS, and RRFS were seen with male gender, increasing age, high mitotic count, ulceration, and increasing Breslow thickness.'] Is incomplete sentinel node biopsy clearly related to survival or regional recurrence in cutaneous melanoma patients?