European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology
-
Comparative Study
Axillary recurrences after negative sentinel lymph node biopsy under local anaesthesia for breast cancer: a follow-up study after 5 years.
Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is accepted as a standard surgical staging procedure for determining the tumour status of the regional lymph nodes. Until September 2000 we performed SLNB in general anaesthesia. Since 1999, after validation of the SLNB concept, axillary dissection was omitted in SLN-negative patients. This study presents our data after SLNB under local anaesthesia after a follow-up of at least 5 years. ⋯ This survey confirms the safety of the SLNB under local anaesthesia in selecting patients for axillary lymph node dissection in breast cancer.