The Journal of dermatology
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Some recent reports have revealed that the long scintigraphic appearance time (SAT), defined as the time between radionuclide injection and first sentinel lymph node (SLN) visualization in lymphoscintigraphy, is a negative predictive parameter of nodal metastasis in patients with melanoma. However, most of the methods used to measure the SAT were ambiguous because they utilized visualization in lymphoscintigraphy. We herein introduce a novel method by which to measure the SAT and lymphatic flow rate. ⋯ In 28 patients without metastasis, the mean LTR was in the order of lower limbs (4.07 ± 0.35 cm/min), upper limbs (2.67 ± 0.33 cm/min), trunk (1.79 ± 0.47 cm/min), and head and neck (1.11 ± 0.22 cm/min). The LTRs were higher in patients with nodal metastasis than those without. This method may be effective for accurate measurement of the SAT and lymphatic flow rate.