Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
After registering and getting hooked up to the IV, they wheeled my bed into the Women's Center. While in the bed, they injected lidocain into my nipple/areola. I will not lie, that was not a pleasant experience but since it was lidocain we're talking about it went quickly. The next step was to inject the radioactive fluid into my breast. Thanks to the lidocain, I did not feel the injection; however, once the doctor started to inject the dye, it was extremely painful. The first 5 seconds were fine but the next 20 seconds or so became increasingly worse. Just remember to breathe and it goes a little easier. One nurse held my hand while another one rubbed my hair and talked me through it. The last 10 seconds were of us all counting down. It took another minute or two and then the pain subsided.
Next they wheeled me to a waiting area where my husband was able to join me. Apparently the nurse told him that I was through the worst part of the day and I have to agree with her. We then went to a room with the x-ray machine. I sat up so they could place the x-ray board underneath me and then I laid down on top of that. They brought the camera within inches of my body and raised my arm to my side. I sat there for 5 minutes while they filmed me. The liquid had not dispersed all the way through the lymphatic system so they gave me a 10 minute break before rolling me onto my side to do another set of filming, this time with my arms in front of me in a praying position. They filmed for 5 minutes and we were done.
After that I went back to the pre-op area and waited for my turn. One of the nurses explained to me that the reason a lymph node biopsy can be so painful is that the doctor has to move nerves out of the way in order to get to the lymph node. This angers the tired little nerves and so they fight back to get into their cozy position. That's what causes the aching. :-) (I swear that is how she explained it to me!)
So, I awoke from surgery and went home a few hours later. I'm sitting in bed now with my oxycodone and really feel okay except for a sore arm and breast. I keep massaging my arm and that seems to help. The doctor said I would be able to resume normal activities within a couple of days; exercise by the end of next week.
I won't know the results until the lab has a chance to review the nodes. The hospital won't give preliminary results because apparently they were sued in the past when the preliminary results were fine but the lab results came back showing cancer. So now we have to wait until the more conclusive lab results are completed.
I'll keep you all posted. I meet with my oncologist for the first time next Wednesday and I'm nervous about that. If any of you have advice on that, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
Take care and have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
Liz
Comments
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thanks
Thanks for posting your experience. Is this after a biopsy that showed cancer? My SNB was done as part of my mastectomy.
I was really sore and numb all down my arm--scared to death I was getting lymphedema even 2 days after the surgery.
The surgeon came through about that time. He said they had someone on one side of me with a retracter, using all their strength pulling to get the muscles up so they could get to the nodes they wanted.
No wonder I was sore.
Lisa0 -
It is over
Liz, thanks for posting this. I am sorry that you even had to go thru it, but, it is over now! When will you know the results? Don't let them put you off. Why nervous about seeing your oncologist? He will explain your treatment plan to you and get you going. Write down all of your questions and take them with you. Good luck and let us know what you find out.
Kylez ♥0 -
Good to hear from you, LizKylez said:It is over
Liz, thanks for posting this. I am sorry that you even had to go thru it, but, it is over now! When will you know the results? Don't let them put you off. Why nervous about seeing your oncologist? He will explain your treatment plan to you and get you going. Write down all of your questions and take them with you. Good luck and let us know what you find out.
Kylez ♥
Liz, I'm so sorry that this was so painful for you, but glad that you're home and resting. I hate that the hospital wouldn't give you preliminary results -- the waiting is usually worse than any pain they put you through!
I want to mention that my experience with my sentinel node biopsies was nowhere near as difficult as what you described. NOT AT ALL to minimize what you went through, just to let women who may have this in your future know that everyone seems to react differently.
I was given a numbing cream a couple of hours before the procedure, and no lidocaine, and the 8 needle sticks (4 in each breast) were all basically painless. I felt a little pressure and tugging, but not much more than that.
One woman on this board, SG, posted on another thread that the blue dye contains sulfa, so perhaps you had some kind of reaction to that? If you look at SG's current picture, you'll see that the sulfa also seems to have turned her into a hairy, ostrich-like creature -- I hope that doesn't happen to you, too! :-)
Take good care, Liz -- I'll be keeping good thoughts for your results.
Traci0 -
My SNB experience was
My SNB experience was considerably different. During the mapping part I stayed in one room. There was an injection of dye (don't remember the lidociane) into the area of the tumor (close to the skin) and we waited for the dye to move to the sentinel node. I was flat on a table, an xray machine overhead and a technician was at the computer watching the dye move. A picture was taken every few minutes and it took two hours for the dye to reach the first node during which time I got up from the table and massaged the area a few times. A physician marked the area of the sentinel node and then I changed into street clothes and walked to day surgery for removal. The sentinel node was removed by my breast cancer surgeon at the time of lumpectomy and a preliminary path report was available to the surgeon while I was asleep. If there had been evidence of cancer in the lymph node then she planned to do a lymph node dissection or removal of most of the nodes. The final report was given on one week follow up. Sorry you had so much pain with your SNB mapping and that you must wait for results. It still amazes me how different these procedures can be. Hoping for positive lymph node results.0 -
I also had my sentinel lymphDerbygirl said:My SNB experience was
My SNB experience was considerably different. During the mapping part I stayed in one room. There was an injection of dye (don't remember the lidociane) into the area of the tumor (close to the skin) and we waited for the dye to move to the sentinel node. I was flat on a table, an xray machine overhead and a technician was at the computer watching the dye move. A picture was taken every few minutes and it took two hours for the dye to reach the first node during which time I got up from the table and massaged the area a few times. A physician marked the area of the sentinel node and then I changed into street clothes and walked to day surgery for removal. The sentinel node was removed by my breast cancer surgeon at the time of lumpectomy and a preliminary path report was available to the surgeon while I was asleep. If there had been evidence of cancer in the lymph node then she planned to do a lymph node dissection or removal of most of the nodes. The final report was given on one week follow up. Sorry you had so much pain with your SNB mapping and that you must wait for results. It still amazes me how different these procedures can be. Hoping for positive lymph node results.
I also had my sentinel lymph node biopsy after my lumpectomy because the stereotactic biopsy had not shown invasive cancer, only DCIS. When the path report showed invasive cancer, the sentinel biopsy was ordered. This was all nine years ago when most surgeons performed the full lymph node biopsy: I was very pleased that I had a surgeon who knew the sentinel procedure.
As far as the preliminary results: I've had lumpectomies, a bilateral mastectomy and several biopsies, and I have never received any preliminary results. In fact, there have been many times that several pathologists have reviewed the sample before I receive any results. I'm not upset by this, because I want to know that they are sure of the results before they give them to me. It's hard enough to find out that your cancer is worse than expected because you've had an additional test. I think that having a good preliminary result which is then reversed would be devastating.
Joyce0 -
That was basically how mineDerbygirl said:My SNB experience was
My SNB experience was considerably different. During the mapping part I stayed in one room. There was an injection of dye (don't remember the lidociane) into the area of the tumor (close to the skin) and we waited for the dye to move to the sentinel node. I was flat on a table, an xray machine overhead and a technician was at the computer watching the dye move. A picture was taken every few minutes and it took two hours for the dye to reach the first node during which time I got up from the table and massaged the area a few times. A physician marked the area of the sentinel node and then I changed into street clothes and walked to day surgery for removal. The sentinel node was removed by my breast cancer surgeon at the time of lumpectomy and a preliminary path report was available to the surgeon while I was asleep. If there had been evidence of cancer in the lymph node then she planned to do a lymph node dissection or removal of most of the nodes. The final report was given on one week follow up. Sorry you had so much pain with your SNB mapping and that you must wait for results. It still amazes me how different these procedures can be. Hoping for positive lymph node results.
That was basically how mine went. When I was awake after the surgery the surgeon came and told me the surgery went well and the sentinel node was clear.0 -
The toughest part for melanie940 said:That was basically how mine
That was basically how mine went. When I was awake after the surgery the surgeon came and told me the surgery went well and the sentinel node was clear.
The toughest part for me during any of this "cancer" territory is not knowing what to expect. I'm so glad everyone is posting their experiences so others can be prepared. I have a friend who warned me that the injection would be tough and that helped me to get through the 20 seconds of discomfort. I can count and breathe like none other! Honestly, I did Lasik eye surgery a few years ago and for that I had to remain perfectly still without blinking or looking away for 20 minutes!!! 20 seconds of an injection in my boob was a cakewalk comparatively speaking! :-) Nothing during the process for me has seemed real. I'm just ready to meet the oncologist on Wednesday, armed with great questions thanks to the women on this board, and start my treatments...whatever they may be. :-) Have a great weekend and I'll talk to you later. PS Traci - that photo of the EMU is hilarious!!! I'm going to google those now so I can get one too. What a laugh! :-)0 -
Hi Liz. I just want to wishpitt said:The toughest part for me
The toughest part for me during any of this "cancer" territory is not knowing what to expect. I'm so glad everyone is posting their experiences so others can be prepared. I have a friend who warned me that the injection would be tough and that helped me to get through the 20 seconds of discomfort. I can count and breathe like none other! Honestly, I did Lasik eye surgery a few years ago and for that I had to remain perfectly still without blinking or looking away for 20 minutes!!! 20 seconds of an injection in my boob was a cakewalk comparatively speaking! :-) Nothing during the process for me has seemed real. I'm just ready to meet the oncologist on Wednesday, armed with great questions thanks to the women on this board, and start my treatments...whatever they may be. :-) Have a great weekend and I'll talk to you later. PS Traci - that photo of the EMU is hilarious!!! I'm going to google those now so I can get one too. What a laugh! :-)
Hi Liz. I just want to wish you good luck Wednesday with your oncologist. Let us know how it goes.
Sue 0 -
Thank you!
Thanks Liz for your post. Good luck at your oncologist.
Hugs0
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