Allergic reactions to isosulfan blue during sentinel node biopsy--a common event

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) dissection in the management of high-risk melanoma and other cancers, such as breast cancer, has recently increased in use. The procedure identifies an SLN by intradermal or intraparenchymal injection of an isosulfan blue dye, a radiocolloid, or both around the primary malignancy. METHODS: At the time of selective SLN mapping, 3 to 5 mL of isosulfan blue was injected either intradermally or intraparenchymally around the primary malignancy. From October 1997 to May 2000, 267 patients underwent intraoperative lymphatic mapping with the use of both isosulfan 1% blue dye and radiocolloid injection. Five cases with adverse reactions to isosulfan blue were reviewed. RESULTS: We report 2 cases of anaphylaxis and 3 cases of "blue hives" after injection with isosulfan blue of 267 patients who had intraoperative lymphatic mapping by the procedure described above. The 2 patients with anaphylaxis experienced cardiovascular collapse, erythema, perioral edema, urticaria, and uvular edema. The blue hives in 3 patients resolved and transformed to blue patches during the course of the procedures. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of allergic reactions in our series was 2.0%. As physicians expand the role of SLN mapping, they should consider the use of histamine blockers as prophylaxis and have emergency treatment readily available to treat the life- threatening complication of anaphylactic reaction.     

A New Radiocolloid for Sentinel Node Detection in Breast Cancer

Background:The optimal radioactive tracer and technique for sentinel lymph node localization in breast cancer is yet to be determined. The dilemma of small particle size with dispersion to second echelon nodes versus failure of migration of larger radiocolloids needs to be resolved. A new radiocolloid preparation with particle size under 0.1 micron was developed with excellent primary/post lymphatic entrapment ratio.Objective:To assess the feasibility of a new ^99mTc radiocolloid cysteine-rhenium colloid in sentinel lymph node (SLN) localization for breast cancer.Methods:Forty-seven patients with newly diagnosed T1 or T2 breast cancer underwent injection of ^99mTc-labeled cysteine-rhenium colloid followed by lymphoscintigraphy. Same day SLN biopsy with patent blue dye and intraoperative gamma probe to identify SLNs were performed.Results:SLN mapping and intraoperative localization were successful in 46/47 (98%) of patients. The blue dye radioactive tracer concordance was 94%. There was one false-negative in a patient with a nonpalpable tumor that underwent ultrasound-guided peritumoral radiocolloid injection.Conclusions:^99mTc-cysteine-rhenium colloid is highly effective in identifying SLNs. It has the advantage of smaller particle size than sulfur colloid with easier lymphatic migration. It has a more neutral pH with less pain on injection and does not require filtration, thereby minimizing radiation exposure to technologists.Presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society of Surgical Oncology, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 16–19, 2000     

Selective sentinel lymphadenectomy for malignant melanoma

To date, selective sentinel lymphadenectomy (SSL) should be considered a standard approach for staging patients with primary invasive melanoma greater than or equal to 1 mm. It is imperative that the multidisciplinary team master the techniques of preoperative lymphoscintigraphy, intraoperative lymphatic mapping, and postoperative pathologic evaluation of the sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). A SLN is defined as a blue, "hot", or any subsequent lymph node greater than 10% of the in vivo count of the hottest lymph node and as an enlarged or indurated lymph node. Frozen sections are not recommended. For extremity melanoma, delayed SSL may be performed. Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy for extremity melanoma may be done the night before so that surgery can be scheduled as the first case of the following day. Every surgeon who uses blue dye should be cognizant of the potential adverse reaction to isosulfan blue and treatment for such a potential fatal reaction. A complete lymph node dissection is done if the SLN is found to be positive. Elective lymph node dissection should not be done if SSL can be done as a staging procedure. It is important for investigators involved with SSL to follow the clinical outcome of their patients so that the role of SSL can be further defined.     

A validation trial of subdermal injection compared with intraparenchymal injection for sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is increasingly being used as an accurate and less morbid surrogate for axillary dissection. However, a standardized technique in the biopsy of SLNs is not used. Some authors propose subdermal injection to be as accurate as peritumoral intraparenchymal injection (IPI). Our objective is to determine whether the SLNs identified by subdermal injection truly represent SLNs and match those found with IPI. Specific end points of the study were 1) successful localization of the SLN by the IPI of isosulfan blue or the radiocolloid intradermal injection, 2) successful uptake of radiocolloid and isosulfan blue on individual SLN, and 3) determination of the frequency with which the radiocolloid injection detected the "gold standard" blue SLN. SLNs were found in 71 of 73 cases (success rate = 97%). Blue SLNs were identified in 64 patients (88%). SLNs in 61 patients (84%) were radioactive. A total of 112 SLNs were identified in 71 patients (1.6 nodes/patient). Seventy-six of 87 SLNs found with IPI were also radioactive (concordance of 87%). All SLNs harboring metastatic cancer (16 patients) were found by both techniques, being both blue and radioactive. Our results support the concept of shared lymphatic pathways in the breast with a high degree of communication between the subdermal lymphatics and the intraparenchymal lymphatics. The success in identification of the SLN is made simpler and improved by the addition of subdermal radiocolloid injection.     

Dynamic MR lymphangiography and carbon dye for sentinel lymph node detection: a solution for sentinel lymph node biopsy in mucosal head and neck cancer

BACKGROUND: The practical application of sentinel lymph node biopsy in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is restricted by the time sensitivity of blue dye and lack of spatial resolution and nonspecific node enhancement with radiocolloid. This study evaluates the use of magnetic resonance (MR) lymphangiography and carbon dye labeling to circumvent these limitations. METHODS: Gadomer/carbon dye mixture was injected into the tongue and stifle of adult swine (n = 4). MR lymphatic mapping was followed by intraoperative mapping with isosulfan blue dye. Sentinel lymph node biopsy and completion node dissection were performed 60 minutes after injection in four nodal basins and at 7 days after injection in eight. RESULTS: The technique was successful in all 12 nodal basins. The sentinel lymph nodes were stained black at the time of the immediate and delayed dissections. CONCLUSIONS: MR lymphangiography provides temporal and anatomic localization of the sentinel lymph node with a single investigation. Carbon dye is a sensitive and persistent visual marker of MRI-targeted sentinel lymph nodes.     

The Progression of Melanoma Nodal Metastasis Is Dependent on Tumor Thickness of the Primary Lesion

Background: Recent results of several clinical trials using the technique of intraoperative lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy confirm the validity of the concept of there being an order to the progression of melanoma nodal metastases. This report reviews the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center experience with this procedure, one of the largest series described to date. These data demonstrate that the involvement of the SLNs, as well as higher-echelon nodes, is directly proportional to the melanoma tumor thickness, as measured by the method of Breslow.Methods: The investigators at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center retrospectively reviewed their experience using lymphatic mapping and SLN biopsies in the treatment of malignant melanoma. All eligible patients with primary malignant melanomas underwent preoperative and intraoperative mapping of the lymphatic drainage of their primary sites, along with SLN biopsies. All patients with positive SLNs underwent complete regional basin nodal dissection. For 20 consecutive patients with one positive SLN, all of the nodes from the complete lymphadenectomy were serially sectioned and examined by S-100 immunohistochemical analysis, to detect additional metastatic disease.Results: Six hundred ninety-three patients consented to undergo lymphatic mapping and SLN biopsy. The SLNs were successfully identified and collected for 688 patients, yielding a 99% success rate. One hundred patients (14.52%) showed evidence of nodal metastasis. The rates of SLN involvement for primary tumors with thicknesses of <0.76 mm, 0.76–1.0 mm, 1.0–1.5 mm, 1.5–4.0 mm, and >4.0 mm were 0%, 5.3%, 8%, 19%, and 29%, respectively. Eighty-one patients underwent complete lymph node dissection after observation of a positive SLN, and only six patients with positive SLNs demonstrated metastatic disease beyond the SLN (7.4%). The tumor thicknesses for these six patients ranged from 2.8 to 6.0 mm. No patient with a tumor thickness of <2.8 mm was found to have evidence of metastatic disease beyond the SLN in complete lymph node dissection. All 20 patients with a positive SLN for whom all of the regional nodes were serially sectioned and examined by S-100 immunohistochemical analysis failed to show additional positive nodes.Conclusions: These results suggest that regional lymph node involvement may be dependent on the thickness of the primary tumor. As the primary tumor thickness increases, so does the likelihood of involvement of SLNs and higher regional nodes in the basin beyond the positive SLNs.Presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of The Society of Surgical Oncology, San Diego, California, March 26–29, 1998.     

乳腺癌前哨淋巴结活检技术

目的 探讨不同方法检测乳腺癌前哨淋巴结（sentinel lymph node,SLN)的可行性及其临床意义。方法 71例经细针穿刺或术中冰冻切片诊断为乳腺癌而临床无腋窝淋巴结肿大的女性患者,随机分为4组,其中亚甲蓝淋巴示踪24例,活性染料异硫蓝示踪29例,核素^99m锝－硫胶体示踪8例,染料与核素联合示踪10例,确认并切除前哨淋巴结,将其单独送病理,随后行乳腺癌手术,包括传统的腋窝淋巴结清扫术。结果 71例患者中有60例成功确定前哨淋巴结,检出率84．5％,其中亚甲蓝组75．0％（18／24）,异硫蓝组86．2％（25／29）,核素组检出7例,联合组全部检出;该技术总的敏感性83．3％,4组分别为70．0％、90．0％、100％、100％;假阴性率各组分别为30．0％、10．0％、0、0;总的准确率93．3％,各组分别为83％、96．0％、100％、100％。各组寻找前哨淋巴结平均花费时间分别为29、22、7、6min。结论 前哨淋巴结活检技术在临床是可行的。绝大多数前哨淋巴结可以比较准确地反映其余腋窝淋巴结的组织学特点。活性染料与核素联合示踪既直观又准确,是最佳的选择方法。     

The effects of postinjection massage on the sensitivity of lymphatic mapping in breast cancer

BACKGROUND: The technique of lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is rapidly becoming the preferred method of staging the axilla of the breast cancer patient. This report describes the impact of postinjection massage on the sensitivity of this surgical technique. STUDY DESIGN: Lymphatic mapping at the H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center is performed using a combination of isosulfan blue dye and Tc99m labeled sulfur colloid. Data describing the rate of SLN identification and the node characteristics from 594 consecutive patients were calculated. Patients who received a 5-minute massage after injection of blue dye and radiocolloid were compared with a control group in which the patients did not receive a postinjection massage. RESULTS: When compared with controls, the proportion of patients who had their SLN identified using blue dye after massage increased from 73.0% to 88.3%, and the proportion of patients who had their SLN identified using radiocolloid after massage increased from 81.7% to 91.3%. The overall rate of SLN identification increased from 93.5% to 97.8%. The proportion of nodes that were stained blue among those removed increased from 73.4% to 79.7% after massage. CONCLUSIONS: As experience increases with this new procedure, the surgical technique of lymphatic mapping continues to evolve. The addition of a postinjection massage significantly improves the uptake of blue dye by SLNs and may also aid in the accumulation of radioactivity in the SLNs, further increasing the sensitivity of this procedure.     

Dynamic sentinel lymph node biopsy as the new paradigm for the management of penile cancer

ObjectivesThe management of patients with penile cancer who have high-risk features for micrometastasis with clinically negative inguinal lymph nodes is controversial. We describe the history of the sentinel lymph node biopsy and how it has evolved to become a useful adjunct in the management of penile caner.Materials and methodsUsing a PubMed search, we identified the evidence relating to the management of the inguinal lymph nodes in penile cancer between 1977 and 2010.ResultsThe concept of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) was first described in 1977 for penile carcinoma where lymphangiograms were performed via the dorsal lymphatics of the penis to locate the primary lymphatic drainage zone of the penis situated near the saphenofemoral junction. Then, in 1992, the lymphatic mapping concept was further advanced by performing intradermal injections of blue dye to directly visualize the lymphatic channels and SLN in the treatment of melanoma. In 1994, investigators from The Netherlands pioneered the use of dynamic sentinel lymph node biopsies (DSLNB) for penile cancer by combining the use of peri-lesional blue dye injection, lymphoscintigraphy, and other future modifications of the technique to achieve low false negative biopsy rates (4.8%) as well as much lower morbidity (5.7%), compared with the 30%–50% morbidity associated with a full inguinal node dissection.ConclusionDSLNB significantly decreases the morbidity associated with performing a standard or even modified inguinal lymph node dissection in patients with clinically negative inguinal lymph nodes. Performing DSLNB requires a multidisciplinary team of urologists, nuclear medicine radiologists, and pathologists working in cohesion to attain the best SLN detection rates with the lowest possible false-negative rates.     

Parotid selective lymphadenectomy in malignant melanoma.

Malignant melanoma of the head and neck can metastasize to lymph nodes within the parotid gland. Selective lymphadenectomy is the modern method of staging regional lymph node basins in clinically localized melanoma. This procedure involves intraoperative lymphatic mapping and directed, selective removal of the first draining nodes or sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). Historically, the assessment of parotid lymph nodes would involve a superficial parotidectomy with facial nerve dissection. Since 1993, 28 patients with localized melanoma of the head and neck have demonstrated lymphatic drainage to parotid lymph nodes on preoperative lymphoscintigraphy. The overall success rate of parotid selective lymphadenectomy is 86% (24 of 28 patients). Of the 28 patients, there were 6 early patients in whom blue dye alone was utilized intraoperatively, and the success rate is 50% (3 of 6 patients). When blue dye and radiocolloid mapping techniques are combined, the parotid selective lymphadenectomy is successful in 95% of patients (21 of 22 patients). Four of the 24 patients (17%) had metastases to the SLNs and underwent therapeutic superficial parotidectomy and/or modified radical neck dissection. After completion of the therapeutic superficial parotidectomy, 1 of the 4 patients was found to have an additional parotid (nonsentinel) node with melanoma metastases. None of the patients incurred injury to the facial nerve by parotid selective lymphadenectomy. To date, 2 of 28 patients (7%) have had regional recurrence to the parotid gland. Failure of the SLN technique may occur when blue dye alone is used, when human serum albumin (not sulfur colloid) is the radiocolloid, when prior wide excision and skin graft is present before lymphatic mapping, and when all SLNs are not retrieved. We conclude that parotid selective lymphadenectomy is a safe and reliable alternative to superficial parotidectomy for staging clinically localized melanoma of the head and neck.     

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Melanoma: How Many Radioactive Nodes Should be Removed?

Background: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has become a standard method of staging patients with cutaneous melanoma. Sentinel lymph node biopsy usually is performed by intradermal injection of a vital blue dye (isosulfan blue) plus radioactive colloid (technetium sulfur colloid) around the site of the tumor. Intraoperative gamma probe detection has been shown to improve the rate of SLN identification compared to the use of blue dye alone. However, multiple sentinel nodes often are detected using the gamma probe. It is not clear whether these additional lymph nodes represent true sentinel nodes, or second-echelon lymph nodes that have received radiocolloid particles that have passed through the true sentinel node. This analysis was performed to determine the frequency with which these less radioactive lymph nodes contain metastatic disease when the most radioactive, or hottest, node does not.Materials and Methods: In the Sunbelt Melanoma Trial, 1184 patients with cutaneous melanoma of Breslow thickness 1.0 mm or more had sentinel lymph nodes identified. Sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed by injection of technetium sulfur colloid plus isosulfan blue dye in 99% of cases. Intraoperative determination of the degree of radioactivity of sentinel nodes (ex vivo) was measured, as well as the degree of blue dye staining.Results:Sentinel nodes were identified in 1373 nodal basins in 1184 patients. A total of 288 of 1184 patients (24.3%) were found to have sentinel node metastases detected by histology or immunohistochemistry. Nodal metastases were detected in 306 nodal basins in these 288 patients. There were 175 nodal basins from 170 patients in which at least one positive sentinel node was found and more than one sentinel node was harvested. Blue dye staining was found in 86.3% of the histologically positive sentinel nodes and 66.4% of the negative sentinel nodes. In 40 of 306 positive nodal basins (13.1%), the most radioactive sentinel node was negative for tumor when another, less radioactive, sentinel node was positive for tumor. In 20 of 40 cases inding a positive sentinel node other than the hottest node.Conclusions: If only the most radioactive sentinel node in each basin had been removed, 13.1% of the nodal basins with positive sentinel nodes would have been missed. It is recommended that all blue lymph nodes and all nodes that measure 10% or higher of the ex vivo radioactive count of the hottest sentinel node should be harvested for optimal detection of nodal metastases.Preliminary findings presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Surgical Oncology, Orlando, Florida, March 4–7, 1999.     

Lymphatic mapping for melanomas of the upper extremity.

Over a period of 4 years, 127 consecutive patients with upper extremity melanomas were identified from a prospectively accrued database. A protocol consisting of preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and intraoperative lymphatic mapping and with a vital blue dye and radiocolloid was used; the protocol had a 98% success rate of identifying the sentinel lymph node (SLN). Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy identified unpredictable cutaneous lymphatic flow in 15 (12%) of the patients. These discordant areas would not have been included in classic regional node dissection and possible sites of metastatic disease would not have been identified. Metastatic disease was identified within the SLNs in 12 (9%) of the patients. Of the 12 patients with a positive SLN, 2 (17%) were found on complete node dissection to have metastatic disease in higher nodes in the regional basin. The SLN was the only site of disease in 10 of these 12 patients with documented metastases in the regional basin. Patients with a negative SLN biopsy can be spared the morbidity and expense of a complete lymph node dissection.     

Sentinel lymph node drainage in multicentric breast cancers

Axillary lymph node status is the most important prognostic marker in patients with breast cancer; the presence of axillary metastases impacts prognosis as well as subsequent systemic therapy. Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is associated with significant morbidity and psychological distress; the introduction of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy with lymphatic mapping affords the ability to identify those patients most likely to benefit from ALND, sparing node-negative patients. The lymphatic drainage of the breast is poorly understood, and the situation is further complicated by the lack of standardization of the SLN biopsy technique among institutions. Multicentricity has generally been considered to be a contraindication to SLN biopsy due to concerns about potential inaccuracies. Here we report five cases of patients with multicentric breast cancers (two tumors in two distinct quadrants). In each case, injection of one site with technetium-labeled sulfur colloid and the second site with isosulfan blue dye resulted in successful identification of at least one node that was both hot and blue within the axilla. These observations suggest that the lymphatic drainage of the entire breast coincides with drainage of the tumor bed, regardless of the quadrant. However, further studies are needed to validate the accuracy of SLN biopsy in multicentric breast cancers.     

Methylene Blue Dye as an Alternative to Isosulfan Blue Dye for Sentinel Lymph Node Localization

Background: Our study describes the use of methylene blue dye as an alternative to isosulfan blue dye to identify the sentinel lymph node (SLN).Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of 112 breast cancer patients (113 axillae) who underwent SLN biopsy (SLNB) with methylene blue dye and ^99mTc-labeled sulfur colloid for SLN identification. All SLNs were submitted for intraoperative frozen section analysis, hematoxylin and eosin stain, and immunohistochemical evaluation. Patients with a pathologically negative SLN did not undergo further axillary lymph node dissection.Results: Of 112 patients who underwent SLNB, the SLN was identified in 107 (95.5%); 104 (92.8%) were identified by methylene blue dye. In a subset of 99 patients with recorded isotope status in relation to blue nodes, concordant identification with both dye and isotope was observed in 94 (94.9%). Of patients with identified SLNs, 32 (29.9%) of 107 contained metastatic disease, with 31 (96.9%) of 32 identified by methylene blue dye. The SLN was the only positive node in 18 (60.0%) of 30 patients.Conclusions: SLNB with methylene blue dye is an effective alternative to isosulfan blue dye for accurately identifying SLNs in breast cancer patients.Presented at the Society of Surgical Oncologys 55th Annual Cancer Symposium, Denver, Colorado, March 14–17, 2002.     

Pathways of Lymphatic Drainage From the Breast

Background: The current standard for obtaining accurate sentinel lymph node SLN mapping is intraparenchymal lymphophilic dye/radiocolloid injection close to the breast tumor. We hypothesized that common lymphatic trunks drain both a large volume of breast parenchyma and skin and that intradermal or intraparenchymal routes flow to the same axillary node.Methods: ^99mTc-labeled filtered sulfur colloid was injected intradermally directly over the breast tumor in 119 patients. Blue dye was injected intraparenchymally in the same quadrant as the primary tumor concordant quadrant in 66 and in a discordant quadrant in 53 patients. During axillary exploration, both blue and gamma-emitting hot nodes were found. End points were SLNs that were hot and blue, either the same node or different nodes.Results: In 62 93.9% of 66 of concordant quadrant and in 49 92.5% of 53 of discordant quadrant patients, the same SLN was both hot and blue P = .99; Fishers exact test. In eight cases in which two distinct nodes were blue and not hot and hot but not blue, the lymph nodes were very close to each other.Conclusions: The dermal and parenchymal lymphatics of the breast seemed to drain to the same axillary lymph nodes. Lymph from the entire breast seemed to drain through a small number of lymphatic trunks to one or two lymph nodes.Presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the Society of Surgical Oncology, Washington, DC, from March 15–18, 2001.     

乳腺癌哨兵淋巴结检出相关临床和组织学因素

目的　探讨乳腺癌术中哨兵淋巴结 (sentinellymphnode ,SLN)检出成功率的预测因素。方法　应用原发肿瘤周围注射 1%亚甲蓝示踪方法对 10 8例Ⅰ、Ⅱ期原发乳腺癌患者进行哨兵淋巴结活检 (sentinellymphnodebiopsy ,SLNB) ,随后行包括腋窝淋巴结清扫 (ALND)在内的乳腺癌手术。通过分析评估临床和组织学因素 ,确定术中SLN成功检出的相关因素。　结果　 10 8例患者术中行SLNB ,84例成功证实SLN(77 78% )。在被评估的临床因素中 ,年龄 <5 0岁 (χ2 =7 4 4 7,P <0 0 1)、原发肿瘤位于上、外象限 (χ2 =6 330 ,P <0 0 5 )、术前穿刺活检确诊 (χ2 =5 5 0 9,P <0 0 5 )、淋巴管示踪成功 (χ2=13 12 5 ,P <0 0 1)明显地与术中SLN的成功证实有关。组织学因素与SLN的检出无关。　结论SLNB过程中SLN检出可能失败。术中SLN证实最好的预测因子是淋巴管示踪成功 ,另外的因素如年龄 ,肿瘤位置和确诊方法对SLN的成功检出同样重要。     

Unfiltered Sulfur Colloid and Sentinel Node Biopsy for Breast Cancer: Technical and Kinetic Considerations

Background: There are few clinical data on technical limitations and radiocolloid kinetics related to sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy for breast cancer.Methods: In 70 clinical node-negative patients, unfiltered^99mTc sulfur-colloid was injected peritumorally and cutaneous hot spots were mapped with a gamma probe. SLN biopsy was performed followed by axillary lymph node dissection. Missed radioactive nodes (nodes not under hot spots) were removed from axillary lymph node dissection specimens and submitted separately.Results: At least one hot spot was mapped in 69 patients (98%) and SLNs were retrieved in 62 (89%). No radiolabeled nodes were found in five (7%) and only nodes not under hot spots were retrieved in three patients (4%). Residual nodes not under hot spots were retrieved in 17 patients (24%) in whom at least one SLN specimen had been found. Diffuse radioactivity around the radiocolloid injection site impeded identification of all radiolabeled nodes during SLN biopsy, and was responsible for one of two false negatives (20 node-positive patients; false-negative rate 10%). Hot spot radioactivity, number of radiolabeled nodes, and nodal radioactivity did not change with time interval from radiocolloid injection to surgery (0.75–6.25 hours).Conclusions: Although SLN localization rate is high, intraparenchymal injection may predispose to failure of radiocolloid migration, failure to identify SLNs because of high radiation background, and false-negative outcomes. Alternative routes of radiocolloid administration should be explored.     

Blue urticaria: a previously unreported adverse event associated with isosulfan blue.

The sentinel node hypothesis is predicated on the fact that a metastasis, if it exists, will have traveled on a direct path from the primary tumor through the efferent lymphatic channels to the first draining lymph node in the regional lymphatic basin, the sentinel node. Lymphatic mapping with isosulfan blue and sentinel lymphadenectomy is being increasingly used in the management of patients with melanoma, breast cancer, and other solid tumors. This trend is exposing an increasing number of patients to isosulfan blue. Although this compound is generally safe, severe reactions have been reported. We describe 2 patients who developed "blue hives" after isosulfan blue injection.     

Immediate preoperative injection of 99m-Tc sulfur colloid is effective in the detection of breast sentinel lymph nodes

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is an accurate technique to determine the metastatic status of lymph nodes. Radionuclide guidance makes the procedure easier and improves the success rate. Coordinating the operating room and nuclear medicine schedules causes delays when same-day radionuclide injection is used. We hypothesized that injection of 99m-Tc sulfur colloid immediately preoperatively is effective in SLN detection. We analyzed a prospective database of 70 patients treated at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. The first 39 patients underwent completion axillary dissection (Group A) and subdermal injection of sulfur colloid immediately before surgery. A second group of 31 patients (Group B) had intraparenchymal injection immediately before surgery. We used isosulfan blue in all cases. SLNs were identified in 97 per cent of cases. SLNs were radioactive in 94 per cent and blue in 90 per cent. In Group A the accuracy and the positive and negative predictive values of SLN biopsy were 100 per cent. SLN counts per second ranged from 22 to 1700. The mean count per second was 290 +/- 281 (mean +/- standard deviation). Subdermal and intraparenchymal injections were equally successful (93% vs 92%). In conclusion injection of radiocolloid and isosulfan blue immediately preoperatively is highly successful and accurate in the detection of SLNs in breast cancer. It avoids operating room schedule delays.     

Anaphylaxis to isosulfan blue dye during sentinel lymph node biopsy

We describe a case of intraoperative anaphylaxis resulting from isosulfan blue (IB) dye, an agent being increasingly used for identification of sentinel lymph nodes. A 45-year-old woman undergoing a left mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy under general endotracheal anesthesia developed severe intraoperative hypotension and tachycardia 10 minutes after subcutaneous injection of IB dye for lymphatic mapping. This was associated with a reduction in pulse oximeter reading to 89%. She was successfully resuscitated using 1 mg of epinephrine intravenously (IV). Invasive arterial and central venous pressures were initiated; her lymph node biopsy was concluded, but the rest of her procedure was canceled. Postoperative workup revealed a high tryptase level indicative of an intraoperative anaphylactic reaction most probably related to the IB dye. Isosulfan blue dye can act as an antigen, causing a full-blown intraoperative anaphylactic reaction. Early recognition and aggressive hemodynamic interventions can reduce morbidity and mortality.