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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the advantage of sentinel lymph node biopsy?
How does SurgicEye’s freehand SPECT support the sentinel lymph node biopsy?
What will happen if my sentinel nodes contain a tumor?
How long will it take to receive the results from my sentinel lymph node biopsy?
Is the radioactive dye harmful?
Is sentinel lymph node biopsy always successful?
Where can I find more information on sentinel lymph node biopsy?
What is the advantage of sentinel lymph node biopsy?
Sentinel lymph node biopsy is an accurate and reliable way of determining the stage of your cancer disease. It is a significantly less invasive operation than radical axillary lymph node dissection. This is usually resulting in a smaller scar, less pain, faster recovery and fewer long-term side effects.
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How does SurgicEye’s freehand SPECT support the sentinel lymph node biopsy?
freehand SPECT is currently the only method worldwide to image sentinel lymph nodes during surgery in 3D. Preoperative images have only limited validity during surgery. Real time images during surgery guide the surgeon to make minimal insertions while having the same accuracy and reliability as traditional approaches. This results in a smaller scar, less pain, faster recovery time, fewer long-time effects as well as the certainty to extract the “correct” sentinel lymph node.
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What will happen if my sentinel nodes contain a tumor?
Your medical doctor will advise you on the follow-up procedure.
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How long will it take to receive the results from my sentinel lymph node biopsy?
When the sentinel nodes are removed, they are analyzed by a pathologist under the microscope. Usually a result will be obtained within less than 7 days after the operation.
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Is the radioactive dye harmful?
The dose of radiation which will be injected to allow for a sentinel node biopsy is very low and similar to that of mammography and markedly less than a CT scan. The same dose is used for the standard SLN imaging procedure and no further activity is required for a freehand SPECT scan with SurgicEye’s Confident Surgery Suite.
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Is sentinel lymph node biopsy always successful?
In less than 5% (five in hundred) patients, the sentinel node cannot be localized. If this happens, your medical doctor will adjust the follow-up treatment. With freehand SPECT we aim at reducing the amount of cases where the surgeon fails to locate the sentinel lymph nodes by providing full 3D imaging during surgery.
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Where can I find more information on sentinel lymph node biopsy?
You can feel free to ask your consultant, the breast care nurse or any one of the doctors or nurses involved in your care about sentinel node biopsy. In most countries, the national institutes of breast cancer provide information also in your language.
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Internet links for patient information on sentinel lymph node biopsy
www.sentinelnode.net/
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/therapy/sentinel-node-biopsy
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