Eight false negative sentinel node procedures in XXXX : what went wrong?

@entity1 @entity5 @entity0 @entity3
AIMS: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the false negative sentinel node procedures in @entity1 with @entity0 at our institution. METHODS: A total of 606 sentinel node biopsies were performed on 599 clinical N0 @entity0 @entity1 between January 1997 and November 2001. RESULTS: The axillary sentinel node revealed @entity3 in 204 (36.1%) of the 565 @entity1 in whom it was identified and was false negative in eight @entity1 . Two false negative results came to light by confirmatory axillary lymph node dissection during the learning phase. Tumour-positive lymph nodes were incidentally found in the axillary tail of the simple mastectomy specimen in two @entity1 . Excision of a firm, non-radioactive, unstained but @entity5 -positive non-sentinel node occurred in three other @entity1 . One @entity1 developed an axillary recurrence 22 months postoperatively. Presumptive causes were surgical delay, pathological sampling error and @entity5 blocking. CONCLUSION: Intra-operative palpation of the axilla to identify suspicious lymph nodes is recommended. In a two-day protocol, surgery should be performed first thing in the morning. Seven slices of 50-150-micro m strike an acceptable balance between sensitivity and work load for the pathologist.
