![]() You may be able to take part in clinical trials looking at new treatments (you may not be able to take part in these trials if you haven't had a sentinel lymph node biopsy).Doctors can use the results to give you more information about what might happen to you in the future.It is better than an ultrasound scan at finding very small cancers.It can help doctors find out whether melanoma has spread to nearby lymph nodes, so they can offer you treatment for this.They can help you decide whether or not to have this test. You can talk to your doctor about sentinel node biopsy. ![]() They list some advantages and disadvantages of this test. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced guidelines about the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma. Advantages and disadvantages of sentinel lymph node biopsy You’ll also have scans to see if the cancer has spread anywhere else. Your doctor will talk to you about further treatment. So you won’t usually need any further tests or treatment.Ī positive result means there are cancer cells in the sentinel nodes. This means the cancer has started to spread. What happens nextĪ negative result means there are no cancer cells in the sentinel nodes. This means that the melanoma is unlikely to have spread to the other lymph nodes. The lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. You can also call the Cancer Research UK nurses on freephone 08. Your doctors will make sure the benefits of having this test outweigh these possible risks. Possible risks of a sentinel lymph node biopsyĪ sentinel lymph node biopsy is normally a safe procedure but your nurse will tell you who to contact if you have any problems afterwards. This is harmless.Ībout a week later, you have an appointment at the clinic or your GP surgery to have your stitches taken out, if needed. The blue dye will make your urine look blue or green for the next couple of days. Once they have taken this out, they will check your wounds and then you can go home. If you have a drain, your nurse will normally remove it the next day unless it is still draining a lot of fluid. You can usually go home later the same day, if you don't have a drain. Going home will also depend on the type of operation you had for the wide local excision.Īs you have had a general anaesthetic, you will need someone to take you home and stay with you for 24 hours after the operation. This is to drain fluid that may collect there. They may leave a thin tube where they took out the lymph nodes. They stitch the wounds closed and cover with a small dressing. The surgeon then continues with the operation to remove more tissue around the site of the melanoma (wide local excision). They can see the blue dye, which also helps them identify the sentinel nodes. They remove these nodes and send them to the laboratory to see if they contain cancer cells. They make a cut into your skin over the area. Your surgeon uses a handheld scanner to pick up the radioactivity in the sentinel lymph nodes. The dye will gradually drain into the sentinel nodes. While you are asleep, the surgeon injects a blue dye into the area around the site of the melanoma. You have the sentinel lymph node biopsy under general anaesthetic. The scan takes about 90 minutes or more, depending on where the melanoma is and where the sentinel nodes are. The radiographer marks where these nodes are on your skin. The first nodes that the tracer drains into are the sentinel nodes. This picks up the radioactive liquid and traces it as it moves through the lymphatic vessels and into the lymph nodes. You have small injections of a radioactive liquid into the area where your melanoma was.Ībout 15 minutes later, you have a scan. ![]() You have the scan in the nuclear medicine department of the hospital. The day before or morning of your wide local excision, you have a scan to show where the sentinel nodes are.
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