Table 1.
Patient demographics and primary tumor characteristics.
Figure 1.
Drawings illustrate three types of SLCs found in the breast from the areolar region or the tumor to the axillary SLNs.
However, these three types of SLCs were not found in a single specimen.
Figure 2.
Representative blue SSLCs observed after single subareolar injection of methylene blue dye intraoperatively, showing that pathways of lymph flow arise from the areolar region, pass within the subcutaneous fatty tissue, and terminate at the SLNs in the axilla.
A: One blue SSLC from the areolar region to a single blue SLN. B: Two separate SSLCs from the areolar region, through diverging pathways, to two separate but adjacent SLNs. (1. injection site; 2. blue SSLC; 3.SLN).
Figure 3.
Representative blue DSLCs obtained after single peritumor injection of methylene blue dye postoperatively (back side of the breast), revealing that pathways of lymph flow arise from the peritumor parenchyma, pass through the retromammary tissue above pectoralis deep fascia, and terminate at the SLNs in the axilla.
(1. injection site; 2. blue DSLC; 3.SLN; 4.tumor).
Figure 4.
Representative blue PSLCs obtained after single subareolar injection of methylene blue dye intraoperatively (back side of the breast), showing that pathways of lymph flow arise from the areolar region, pass through the breast tissue, and terminate at the SLNs in the axilla.
A: A blue PSLC from the areolar region, penetrating the breast tissue, to a single blue axillary SLN. B: A PSLC from the areolar region, passing through the breast tissue, diverging in retromammary tissue, and reaching two separate SLNs. (1. injection site; 2. blue PSLC; 3.SLN).
Table 2.
Factors associated with unsuccessful mimic SLNB and false-negative sentinel node biopsy.