ABSTRACT
The following is a description of the technique of lymphatic mapping with sentinel lymphnode biopsy in patients with melanoma used at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, based on our experience with over 600 patients. We initiated this experience using blue dye alone, but have used a combination of blue dye and radioisotope for the last 270 patients; in our experience and in the experience reported in the literature, that technique yields the highest rate of sentinel lymph node (SLN) localization. The technique is fairly robust, with innumerable subtle working variations of the described procedure. Nonetheless, it does have many pitfalls, and one must be absolutely meticulous in order to maximize diagnostic accuracy.
