Sentinel Node Biopsy Helps in Determining Cancer By General Surgeon Dr. Millicent Alache Bello

Dr. Millicent Alache Bello is one of the most renowned and best General surgeons in Dubai working at King’s College Hospital, Dubai. With his high experience and skills as a General Surgeon, he is serving for the last 35 years. Being a professional member of the General Medical Council, she is also connected with the British Medical Association, the Association of Breast Surgery , and the Medical Defence Union. She completed her MBBS followed by FRCS (Ed), FRCS (Gen.Surg Ed), and M.Phil. She was bestowed  with the certificate of completion of Specialist Training in 2000. He has practiced and hold expertise in several surgeries such as prophylactic breast surgery and immediate breast reconstruction, oncoplastic breast reconstruction with a special interest in breast conservation using oncoplastic and mammoplasty techniques, breast cancer surgery,  breast reductions/augmentations and incorporate these techniques into the oncological setting, treating other breast diseases and breast screening, congenital breast deformity and acquired anomaly among several other services. Apart from being a very active and dedicated surgeon, she was in charge of developing the landscape of breast care delivery at Noble’s Hospital. She keeps on organizing and presenting talks on breast awareness.

Sentinel Node Biopsy

 It is a surgical procedure that is used to determine whether cancer has spread beyond a primary tumor into your lymphatic system. Most commonly it is used in evaluating breast cancer and melanoma.

The sentinel nodes are the nodes into which a tumor drains. Sentinel node biopsy includes injecting a tracer material that helps the surgeon locate the sentinel nodes during surgery. The sentinel nodes are removed and then analyzed in a laboratory.

If these nodes are free from cancer, they are unlikely to spread,  it is not necessary to remove additional lymph nodes. If it reveals cancer, the doctor might recommend removing more lymph nodes.

Need of Sentinel Node Biopsy

Sentinel node biopsy is recommended to people with certain types of cancer. It helps to determine whether the cancer cells have spread into the lymphatic system. It is used to study:

• Breast cancer
• Melanoma
• Colon cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• Head and neck cancer
• Non-small cell lung cancer
• Stomach cancer
• Thyroid cancer

Procedure

The process needs to be done under general anaesthesia. The surgeon makes a small incision in the area over the lymph nodes. Before the procedure, if you've received a radioactive solution the surgeon uses a small instrument called a gamma detector to determine where the radioactivity has accumulated and identify the sentinel nodes. When a blue dye is used it stains the sentinel nodes bright blue allowing the surgeon to see them. The sentinel nodes are then removed and sent to a pathologist to examine under a microscope for signs of cancer. Sentinel node biopsy is done in some cases at the same time as surgery to remove cancer. It can also be done before or after surgery to remove cancer.

Take Away

A lymph node evaluation is needed in case the sentinel nodes do not show any cancer. Your doctor will provide you a treatment plan for the same as well. For more details and proper consultancy, you can contact Dr. Millicent Alache Bello, one of the most prominent general surgeons in UAE, working at King’s College Hospital, Dubai.