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Lymph node biopsy
Make it clearer
Lymph nodes are stations that lymph passes through, and sometimes one of them has to be examined from the inside. An open lymph node biopsy is the surgery that takes it out, whole or in part, and it is done mainly when there is a node that can be felt on examination, that is, felt with the fingers.
The procedure is straightforward: the area is cleaned, a small surgical cut is made, the node or a piece of it is removed, and the sample is sent to the lab to be looked at. In some cancers there is an earlier step worth understanding. A radioactive tracer or a blue dye is injected next to the tumor, and then you wait to see which nodes it reaches. Those are the sentinel nodes, the first ones the cancer could spread to. Like a drop of ink following the current of a stream, the dye reaches those first nodes the cancer could spread to.
In brief
An open lymph node biopsy is surgery that removes the whole node or part of it, and it is usually done when the node can be felt on examination.
The area is cleaned, a small cut is made, the node or a piece of it is removed, and it is sent to the lab.
In some cancers, a radioactive tracer or a blue dye is injected next to the tumor, and the nodes it reaches are the sentinel nodes: the first ones the cancer could spread to.
Sources (1)
- MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of MedicineLymph node biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia)
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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