Sentinel node biopsy in melanoma patients: dynamic lymphoscintigraphy followed by intraoperative gamma probe and vital dye guidance.

Biopsy of the first tumor-draining lymph node (sentinel node, SN) is bound to become the procedure of choice in regional staging of melanoma patients. A tumor-negative SN virtually excludes lymphatic metastases and obviates the need for lymph node dissection. The aim of this study was to combine the advantages of three known techniques to improve the yield of successful SN biopsies.

[Less axillary dissection necessary due to sentinel node biopsy in patients with breast carcinoma].

Objective: To determine whether the sentinel node concept is appropriate in patients with breast cancer, notably whether the sentinel node can be identified after peritumoral injection of colloidal 99mTc albumin using lymphoscintigraphy or a handheld gamma probe in the axillary drainage area.

Design: Descriptive.

Setting: Academic Hospital Free University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm. Prevalence, clinical features and diagnostic evaluation.

Eight patients with an inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm are described. They constituted 3.1% of all aortic aneurysms operated in the period 1981-1990.

Invasion of laryngeal cartilage by cancer: comparison of CT and MR imaging.

Forty-two patients with laryngeal carcinomas were examined with computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The accuracy of both CT and MR imaging in the depiction of cartilage invasion was evaluated in 16 patients by comparing findings at CT and MR with pathologic findings. Calcified cartilage that has been invaded by cancer is frequently seen on CT scans as having an intact contour.