ABSTRACT
Lymphatic mapping and sentinel node identification are commonly described as the most important innovations in surgical management of solid tumors since Halsted described radical mastectomy with en bloc lymphadenectomy.1 Gould et al2 are credited with the first use of the term ‘sentinel lymph node’ in the 1960s, yet it took over 30 years for the procedure to be refined and popularized. Even now, definitive data to support sentinel node biopsy alone as an alternative to lymphadenectomy are lacking.
