Skip to main content
PMC home page
Annals of Surgery logoLink to Annals of Surgery
. 1981 Mar;193(3):372–376. doi: 10.1097/00000658-198103000-00022

Isolated regional lymph node dissection: morbidity, mortality and economic considerations.

K I Bland, T W Klamer, H C Polk Jr, C O Knutson
PMCID: PMC1345079  PMID: 7212799

Abstract

Between 1971-1979, 330 consecutive isolated regional lymph node dissections (RLNDs) were performed as therapeutic procedures for metastatic disease, at the University of Louisville Affiliated Hospitals and the Ellis-Fischel State Cancer Hospital in Columbia, Missouri. This retrospective analysis includes 133 radical neck RLNDs, 87 axillary RLNDs, and 110 superficial groin RLNDs. All accessioned cases were elective and were performed as isolated procedures, discrete from resection of contiguous or remote organs. No patients received preoperative irradiation, chemotherapy or immunotherapy. Forty-eight per cent of the 330 RLND procedures resulted in some form of postoperative complication. However, 91% of the incurred morbidity was localized to the operative site and was related to serum collection and/or flap necrosis. The occurrence of postoperative complications for each RLND site resulted in a prolongation of the patients' hospital stays by a mean of 9 days, and was most extended for the superficial groin RLND by a mean of 11 days. Nine patients (3%) died. These data for morbidity and mortality rates, as well as the implicit economic impact, represent substantial factors in the utilization of elective RLND.

Full text

PDF
373

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Budd D. C., Cochran R. C., Sturtz D. L., Fouty W. J., Jr Surgical morbidity after mastectomy operations. Am J Surg. 1978 Feb;135(2):218–220. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(78)90103-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. DALAND E. M. Malignant melanoma; personal experience with 170 cases. N Engl J Med. 1959 Mar 5;260(10):453–460. doi: 10.1056/NEJM195903052601001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. FORTNER J. G., BOOHER R. J., PACK G. T. RESULTS OF GROIN DISSECTION FOR MALIGNANT MELANOMA IN 220 PATIENTS. Surgery. 1964 Apr;55:485–494. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Harris M. N., Gumport S. L., Berman I. R., Bernard R. W. Ilioinguinal lymph node dissection for melanoma. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1973 Jan;136(1):33–39. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Harris M. N., Gumport S. L., Maiwandi H. Axillary lymph node dissection for melanoma. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1972 Dec;135(6):936–940. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Lehr H. B., Royster H. P., Enterline H. T., Askovitz S. I. The surgical management of patients with melanoma. Plast Reconstr Surg. 1967 Nov;40(5):475–481. doi: 10.1097/00006534-196711000-00010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Milton G. W., Williams A. E., Bryant D. H. Radical dissection of the inguinal and iliac lymph-nodes for malignant melanoma of the leg. Br J Surg. 1968 Sep;55(9):641–648. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800550902. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Polk H. C., Jr, Linn B. S. Selective regional lymphadenectomy for melanoma: a mathematical aid to clinical judgment. Ann Surg. 1971 Sep;174(3):402–413. doi: 10.1097/00000658-197109000-00009. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. SOUTHWICK H. W., SLAUGHTER D. P., HINKAMP J. F., JOHNSON F. E. The role of regional node dissection in the treatment of malignant melanoma. Arch Surg. 1962 Jul;85:63–69. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.1962.01310010067009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. STEHLIN J. S., Jr, CLARK R. L. MELANOMA OF THE EXTREMITIES; EXPERIENCES WITH CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT AND PERFUSION IN 339 CASES. Am J Surg. 1965 Sep;110:366–383. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(65)90076-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of Surgery are provided here courtesy of Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins

RESOURCES