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Updated: Jun 6, 2026
Single-port Non-liposuction Endoscopic Axillary Lymph Node Dissection in Breast Cancer Surgery
Published on: April 3, 2026
Success in sentinel lymph node procedures in obese patients with breast cancer
Ute Gawlick1, Mary C Mone, Edward T Nelson
1Department of Surgery, University of Utah, School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA.
Background:
Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy for axillary staging in breast cancer is technically more demanding but of added benefit in obese patients. This retrospective review compares variables and outcomes of SLN staging in obese and nonobese women.
Methods:
From 235 total SLN cases, demographics and clinical and procedural variables were collected and compared in obese (body mass index [BMI] of ≥ 35, n = 28) and nonobese (BMI ≤ 25 [n = 84]) patients.
Results:
Overall, the intraoperative false-negative rate was 13.6% and failure to identify SLN occurred in 2 cases (.85%). Although no differences in patient or tumor characteristics were found, obese patients had significantly lower external hotspot counts, first sentinel node counts, and fewer sentinel nodes recovered when compared with the nonobese.
Conclusions:
SLN procedures are successful and accurate for axillary staging in obese women and avoid the added morbidity of axillary lymph node dissection in this higher risk population.
