PREPARATION:
- There is no specific preparation.
- Do not forget to bring any exams related to the disease under investigation (such as mammography, breast ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging and the anatomopathological report of the biopsy).
HOW IS THE EXAM PERFORMED?
This exam can be performed the day before, or on the same day, of surgery.
After filling out the registration form at the reception desk, the patient will undergo a clinical interview.
Then, they will be directed to the examination room, where a small amount of radioactive tracer will be injected into the skin (subdermal injection) in a region close to the tumor. The patient will be instructed to move around and gently massage the region where the radioactive material was injected. An interval is necessary for it to migrate from the injection site to the lymph node. This time interval is variable and depends on the anatomy of each patient.
Subsequently, some images will be acquired to locate the sentinel lymph node(s).
Once identified, a mark will be made on the skin with a dermographic pen, which will serve as a reference for the surgery.
At the end, the patient will be discharged to return to his home or hospital.
One of our doctors or nurses will accompany the surgery, equipped with a piece of equipment called Probe. This equipment detects radiation and is necessary to identify the radioactive lymph node (sentinel) in the surgical act.
Note: In cases of skin tumor (melanoma), the patient will be sent to the exam room and the injection will be made while inside the device. Sequential images will be obtained immediately after tracer injection.
This exam is intended to locate the sentinel lymph node. The lymph node is called sentinel because it is the first to receive drainage from that region where the tumor is located.
This does not mean that it is affected by the tumor. Only microscopic analysis allows us to say whether or not this lymph node is affected by the disease. If it is not, the chance of other lymph nodes being affected is very low.
OE 048 – Version: 03/2024
Made by: DIMEN Technical Team
