What are the advantages of sentinel lymph node biopsy?
If the sentinel lymph nodes are negative, the patient can avoid further axillary dissection. Though axillary dissection is a safe procedure, it is associated with a small chance of lymphoedema. After axillary dissection, a drain will be inserted and this will prolong hospitalization. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is a more accurate method of staging compared to conventional axillary dissection. In Sentinel lymph node biopsy the number of harvested sentinel lymph nodes is usually limited (1 to 4), so the pathologist can spend more time examining the material and be more likely to pick up micrometastasis (i.e. metastasis smaller than 2mm). In conventional axillary dissection more than 10 lymph nodes are harvested, so the pathologist cannot study each lymph node extensively and micrometastasis may not be detected. Accurate staging is essential for every breast cancer patient because this will determine the adjuvant therapy after the operation. What are the disadvantages of sentinel lymph nod
