BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has become widely accepted as a method of staging the regional lymph nodes for @entity1 with @entity320 . Although it is often stated that SLN biopsy is a minimally invasive procedure associated with few complications, a paucity of data exists to specifically determine the morbidity associated with this procedure. This analysis was performed to evaluate the morbidity associated with SLN biopsy compared with @entity1600 ( @entity1600 ). METHODS: @entity1 were enrolled in the Sunbelt @entity320 Trial, a prospective multi-institutional study of SLN biopsy for @entity320 . @entity1 underwent SLN biopsy and were prospectively followed up for the development of complications associated with this technique. @entity1 who had evidence of nodal metastasis in the SLN underwent @entity1600 . Complications associated with SLN biopsy alone were compared with those associated with SLN biopsy plus @entity1600 . RESULTS: A total of 2120 @entity1 were evaluated, with a median follow-up of 16 months. Overall, 96 (4.6%) of 2120 @entity1 developed major or minor complications associated with SLN biopsy, whereas 103 (23.2%) of 444 @entity1 experienced complications associated with SLN biopsy plus @entity1600 . There were no deaths associated with either procedure. CONCLUSIONS: SLN biopsy alone is associated with significantly less morbidity compared with SLN biopsy plus @entity1600 .

Complications associated with sentinel lymph node biopsy for XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Patients', 'patients'] @entity1600 :: ('MESH:D014388', 'Disease') :: ['CLND', 'completion lymph node dissection'] @entity320 :: ('MESH:D008545', 'Disease') :: ['melanoma', 'Melanoma']
@entity320 :: (MESH:D008545,Disease) :: ['melanoma']
