Sentinel lymph node dissection as a means of managing breast cancer.

Sentinel lymph node dissection is a minimally invasive procedure designed to identify and remove specific lymph nodes suspected of containing metastatic cancer cells. First, a surgeon maps sentinel lymph nodes by tagging them with a radioisotope. He or she then uses a hand-held gamma probe intraoperatively to identify lymph nodes likely to contain metastases of primary lesions (e.g., cancers of the breast, prostate, and parathyroid; melanomas). Sentinel lymph node dissection is precise and considerably less traumatic for the patient than the traditional surgical treatment of complete lymph node dissection. This article discusses the use of sentinel lymph node dissection as a diagnostic tool and treatment for breast cancer.