Author(s)

Marko Vlačić^1*, Mirela Erić², Mladen Jovanović¹, Sandra Jelčić³, Ivan Bešenji⁴, Ivana Smiljanić⁵

¹Clinic for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia.
²Department of Anatomy, Medical Faculty, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia.
³Clinic for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia.
⁴Insititute of Cardiovascular Diseases of Vojvodina, Sremska Kamenica, Republic of Serbia.
⁵Emergency Centre, University Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia.

The network of lymphatic vessels in the skin has been studied for centuries. In 1984, Sappey published an atlas of lymphatic vessels. The discovery of lymphoscintigraphy around 1950 renewed interest in verifying the pathways of lymphatic vessels in patients with skin melanoma. Lymphoscintigraphy quickly became an indispensable technique for mapping sentinel lymph nodes. Detecting sentinel lymph nodes is essential for conducting adequate diagnostics, appropriately staging patients, and administering necessary therapy. A sentinel lymph node is any lymph node that drains lymph from the tumor site. It may not even be the closest to the tumor site because lymphatic vessels can bypass that group of lymph nodes and drain into other lymph nodes. Lymphoscintigraphy is used in mapping sentinel lymph nodes in patients with skin melanoma. It involves intradermal injections of a radiocolloid in close proximity to the melanoma site or in the vicinity where an excisional biopsy has been performed. The location of all lymphatics is marked with a marker or tattooed with a dot on the skin above the node. Radiocolloids particles used for sentinel identification are in the size range of 5 - 50 nanometers. These particles easily enter lymphatic capillaries, and their entry is facilitated by exercise or massage of that body part. The lymphatic drainage of the skin varies from patient to patient, sometimes even when the tumor is in the same location in two different individuals. Therefore, careful diagnostics will enable the location of all true sentinel lymph nodes.

Sentinel Lymph Node, Lymphoscintigraphy, Mapping

Vlačić, M. , Erić, M. , Jovanović, M. , Jelčić, S. , Bešenji, I. and Smiljanić, I. (2024) Mapping Sentinel Lymph Nodes among Patients Afflicted with Skin Melanoma. Open Access Library Journal, 11, 1-13. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1111282.