Description:
Endoscopic axillary lymph node retrieval is a minimally invasive technique for removing the lymph nodes in the armpit (axilla) in people with breast cancer. The lymph nodes are then examined for evidence of cancer spread. This is part of the process of staging, which helps to guide treatment.
Standard treatment involves surgeons removing lymph nodes for staging under direct vision through an incision in the axillary skin. In endoscopic axillary (axilloscopic) lymph node removal, the surgeon makes very small incisions in the axillary skin and removes the lymph nodes using an endoscope.
Endoscopic axillary sentinel node biopsy is a variation of the procedure involving injection of a dye into the breast lump. The single node to which the dye spreads first (the sentinel node) is removed and biopsied. If no cancer cells are found in that node, no further nodes are removed.
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