Comparative morbidity of axillary lymph node dissection and the sentinel lymph node technique: implications for patients with breast cancer.

Objective: To assess our long-term complications from complete axillary lymph node dissection (AXLND) in patients with breast cancer.

Summary Background Data: Complete AXLND as part of the surgical therapy for breast cancer has come under increased scrutiny due the use of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy technique to assess the status of the axillary nodes. As the enthusiasm for the SLN technique has increased, our impression has been that the perceived complication rate from AXLND has increased dramatically while the negative aspects of the SLN technique have been underemphasized.