Sentinel Lymph Node Mapping and Biopsy is an outpatient procedure in which a few lymph nodes under the arm (axilla) or in the groin, on the side of the breast cancer or other cancers, are removed. On the day of surgery, two different dyes are injected into the affected part of the body (ie. breast) to map out which lymph nodes first drain the tumor site. These are the sentinel lymph nodes. On average, one or two lymph nodes are sentinel to each tumor. These are removed and will be tested to see if there are any cancer cells. It is important to remember that the dye going into the lymph nodes does not mean they have cancer in them, but it does mean they are the correct lymph nodes to test. If the sentinel lymph nodes are negative (meaning no cancer is seen) then no further lymph node surgery is needed. If cancer cells are found in a sentinel node(s), then an axillary lymph node dissection will be recommended.
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