Removal of the armpit lymph nodes (axillary lymph node dissection) has 3 purposes:
- Correct staging of the disease
- Guiding concurrent treatments
- Providing local tumor control in patients with lymph node involvement
Whether or not there is axillary lymph node involvement is the most important parameter regarding how the breast cancer will progress (to what extent it threatens the patient’s life).
While the removal of the lymph nodes related to the breast serves the purposes listed above, there is a risk of rarely seen side effects such as swelling in the arm. To prevent these risks, certain measures are taken, such as protecting the patient’s hand and arm from injuries.
Studies conducted in recent years have shown that 8-10 lymph nodes need to be removed in order for the armpit to be sampled correctly.
Statistics show that in about 60% of all breast cancers and on average 75% of early-stage breast cancers there is no involvement of the axillary lymph nodes at the time of diagnosis.
Points to Be Careful About After Axillary Lymph Node Dissection – the Operation of Removing the Armpit Lymph Nodes
- In patients who have undergone armpit dissection, protecting the arm from trauma and infection is very important. Because lymph flow may have been affected, swelling in the arm (lymphedema) may develop.
- The risk of lymphedema is closely related to how extensively the armpit lymph nodes were removed. After sentinel lymph node sampling this rate is quite low.
- There may be temporary, rarely permanent, limitation of movement in the arm and shoulder. Arm exercises are started after the drains are removed. It is especially beneficial to start some exercises that increase the movements of the shoulder joint.
- After the drains are removed, lymph fluid may collect in the armpit and under the breast skin (seroma). As long as it does not reach a size that bothers the patient, no intervention is needed. Otherwise it can be emptied by drawing it with a syringe.
