Increased post-operative complications with methylene blue versus lymphazurin in sentinel lymph node biopsies for skin cancers

Background Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNLB) is the standard of care in staging of melanoma and other skin cancers. Early studies used lymphazurin (LZ) for SLNB. A national shortage of LZ promoted methylene blue (MB) as an alternate stain. Objective This study compares complication rates between LZ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of surgical oncology 2011-04, Vol.103 (5), p.421-425
Main Authors: Neves, Rogerio I., Reynolds, Brandon Q., Hazard, Sprague W., Saunders, Brian, Mackay, Donald R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
blue dye
Carcinoma, Merkel Cell - diagnosis
Carcinoma, Merkel Cell - surgery
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - diagnosis
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - surgery
Coloring Agents
Humans
Lymph Nodes - diagnostic imaging
Lymph Nodes - pathology
Lymph Nodes - surgery
Lymphatic Metastasis
lymphazurin
melanoma
Melanoma - diagnosis
Melanoma - surgery
Methylene Blue
Postoperative Complications
Prognosis
Radionuclide Imaging
Retrospective Studies
Rosaniline Dyes
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
skin cancers
Skin Neoplasms - diagnosis
Skin Neoplasms - surgery
Standard of Care
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNLB) is the standard of care in staging of melanoma and other skin cancers. Early studies used lymphazurin (LZ) for SLNB. A national shortage of LZ promoted methylene blue (MB) as an alternate stain. Objective This study compares complication rates between LZ and MB in SLNB patients, and the reliability dyes in locating sentinel lymph nodes. Methods Charts were reviewed for patients who underwent SLNB for skin cancers between September 2006 and November 2008 at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. The type and quantity of dye, the presence of blue stained sentinel nodes, and any complications were recorded. Results Ninety‐three patients underwent SLNB (46 LZ, 47 MB). The amount of dye used was similar (avg. 0.93 ml LZ, 1.24 ml MB). The complication rate of LZ was 8.7%, and MB was 25.5%. There was significantly more (P = 0.003) skin graft complications in the MB patients (6/12) versus LZ (0/15). Conclusions There is a higher rate of complications with MB, especially with skin grafting. The reported risk of anaphylaxis with LZ has not been reported in volumes
ISSN:0022-4790
1096-9098
DOI:10.1002/jso.21845