Please report to Admitting 15 minutes before your scheduled exam time.
PREP: To be determined by OR consultation.
PURPOSE: Evaluation of staging of cancers into the lymph system.
WHAT TO EXPECT: You will be brought to the Radiology department and injected with four to six injections of a radioactive isotope around the lesion. After a short waiting time, images will be taken of around the injection site to localize the sentinel node. Marks will be drawn on your skin. You will then be brought to the operating room for the rest of the procedure.
TIME FRAME: 45 minutes.
POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS: Minimal to no side effects from the radioactive isotope.
IF YOU ARE PREGNANT, INFORM THE TECHNOLOGIST BEFORE THE EXAM