BACKGROUND: Selective sentinel lymphadenectomy has gained widespread acceptance for staging of @entity320 arising in the trunk and extremities, but the complex lymphatic drainage of the head and neck area has limited its application in this area. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of @entity1 who underwent selective sentinel lymphadenectomy for cutaneous @entity320 of the head and neck at the University of Alabama at Birmingham from 1997 through 2000, by using a standard technique of preoperative lymphoscintigram and biopsy guided with blue dye injection and a handheld gamma probe. @entity1600 was recommended only for @entity5 -positive sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). Survival curves were constructed with the Kaplan-Meier method. Fisher's exact test was used for comparisons. Significance was defined as P < .05. RESULTS: Thirty-eight @entity1 underwent selective sentinel lymphadenectomy with the standard technique during the study period. A majority (82%) of @entity1 were @entity1 with a median age of 55 years. The most common site of the @entity5 was the face (44%), followed by the scalp (24%). Mean @entity5 thickness was 2.5 mm. The sentinel node was identified during surgery in 35 @entity1 (92%). Before the use of the handheld gamma probe, the identification rate of the @entity4298 was only 56%. A single @entity4298 was identified in 53% of cases. The incidence of @entity3 in @entity4298 was 11.4%. With a mean follow-up of 17 months, the actuarial 3-year overall survival was 92%. The accuracy of the selective sentinel lymphadenectomy in this series was 80%. CONCLUSIONS: Selective sentinel lymphadenectomy in the head and neck region is a technically demanding procedure, but the combined use of blue dye and gamma-probe radiolocalization can be a reliable method of staging regional lymph nodes and determining the need for elective lymphadenectomy.

Sentinel node biopsy for cutaneous XXXX in the head and neck.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'men'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['tumor', 'primary tumor'] @entity1600 :: ('MESH:D014388', 'Disease') :: ['Complete lymph node dissection'] @entity4298 :: ('6588', 'Gene') :: ['SLN'] @entity3 :: ('MESH:D009362', 'Disease') :: ['metastases'] @entity320 :: ('MESH:D008545', 'Disease') :: ['melanoma', 'melanomas']
@entity320 :: (MESH:D008545,Disease) :: ['melanoma']
