What happens during lymph node removal?
There are two types of lymph node removal. 1. Sentinel lymph node biopsy – The sentinel nodes are the first nodes that drain the lymphatic fluid from a tumor area. They are found in the armpit on the side of the breast with the tumor. These nodes are the first to show spread of cancer cells. If there is no cancer in the sentinel nodes, it is likely that cancer is not present in other lymph nodes. The removal of fewer lymph nodes with this biopsy results in fewer side effects. • This procedure begins in Nuclear Medicine where a tracer fluid is injected around the tumor area and in the skin of the breast. The tracer fluid travels from breast tissue to the lymph nodes. This may be done the day before or the day of surgery. • The biopsy itself is done at the same time as the breast surgery. The surgeon will inject blue dye around the tumor site while you are in the operating room. The dye and tracer are taken up by the first nodes or sentinel nodes. The surgeon will look for blue dye in th
