Sentinel Lymph Node Surgery
A sentinel lymph node biopsy is a procedure that allows your surgeon to determine that lymph node or lymph nodes in your armpit are most at risk for having trapped a breast cancer cell. This procedure can be done at the same time as any of the breast cancer operations and is nearly always done if the cancer is invasive. In order to determine which lymph node(s) is draining your breast, your surgeon will inject one or two dyes into the skin of your breast after you are asleep. These dyes will be picked up by the lymph channels and will travel to the lymph nodes, mapping the drainage of your individual breast. One dye is called technetium, which is radioactive. A handheld gamma probe (like a Geiger counter) will be used in the operating room to locate the correct lymph node. The other dye is deep blue in color and can be seen trapped in a lymph node. Sometimes the lymph nodes will be sent directly to pathology, while you're still asleep for a frozen section or rapid screening. This information may be used by your surgeon to determine whether additional nodes need to be removed. It is important to understand your surgeon's plan prior to your operation.