BackgroundThe pancreas is an occasional site of metastases from melanoma. It may be the only location of metastatic disease, but more often the melanoma metastasises to other organs as well. Treatment options are somewhat limited, and the role of operative treatment is poorly de®ned. Case outlinesTwo patients presenting with abdominal pain were found to have pancreatic lesions. A 45-year-old woman had a pyloruspreserving pancreatoduodenectomy for a mass in the head of pancreas; concurrent liver nodules were treated by segmental liver resection. A 55-year-old man had a total pancreatectomy for multiple pancreatic tumours. Both patients gave a history of ocular melanoma, diagnosed >10 years previously. They had no evidence of malignancy elsewhere. Histology of resected specimens con®rmed metastatic melanoma with features consistent with an ocular primary. All resection margins were clear of malignancy, and no lymph node metastases were detected. At 6 months follow-up there were no signs of tumour recurrence. DiscussionComplete surgical resection offers potential cure in selected patients with metastatic melanoma involving the pancreas, when there is no evidence of widespread disease.