This is an important topic of concern and it will be discussed further by ibreast.org in the near future. Taking out ten lymph nodes is usually enough to get the full forecasting information you need. The lymph nodes are embedded in this fat, and can often feel just like the fat. Often the surgeon can't clearly see or feel each lymph node individually, in order to count them at the time of surgery. The pathologist has to look carefully through the piece of fatty tissue taken from the axilla to find all of the lymph nodes.
Some pathologists look harder than others.
How many lymph nodes are removed depends just as much on your normal anatomy as it does on the surgeon's and pathologist's skill. For more on the importance of lymph node findings, click here For some women with a low to moderate risk of lymph node involvement, there is a new, usually less extensive, type of surgery called Sentinel Lymph Node Dissection.