Axillary dissection after unsuccessful sentinel lymphadenectomy for breast cancer.
Am Surg
; 65(10): 991-4, 1999 Oct.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-10515550
ABSTRACT
Intraoperative lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy (LM/SL) has been demonstrated to provide sensitive axillary staging for breast cancer. LM/SL has a steep learning curve, and factors associated with unsuccessful LM/SL are not well known. Two hundred sixty patients with breast carcinoma and clinically negative axillae underwent injection of about 5 cm3 of isosulfan blue dye (Lymphazurin, US Surgical Corp, Norwalk, CT) into breast tissue surrounding a cancer or biopsy site. After 5 minutes of breast compression, blue-stained lymph nodes were sought. In 47 patients, no blue nodes were detected; a standard axillary dissection was performed. All 47 patients were women with a mean age of 56 years (range, 34-80). Ductal carcinoma was most common (91.5%). Mean tumor size was 1.99 cm. Axillary dissection yielded a mean of 15.8 lymph nodes (range, 6-35). Sixteen patients (34%) had positive lymph nodes (mean, 7.6; median, 6; range, 1-24). Factors associated with LM/SL difficulty include surgeon inexperience, medial hemisphere primary location, extensive axillary metastases, and extranodal invasion. Inability to identify a sentinel node in a clinically negative axilla is a risk factor for extensive axillary tumor burden. Axillary dissection should be performed for patients with unsuccessful LM/SL, particularly those with lateral hemisphere primaries.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Breast Neoplasms
/
Lymph Node Excision
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
Am Surg
Year:
1999
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States