Comparison of Lymphedema in Patients With Axillary Lymph Node Dissections to Those With Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Followed by Immediate and Delayed ALND

Abstract

The rate of lymphedema was higher in delayed ALND but not statistically significant. Comparison, however, is difficult, given the limited sample size. We urge the other centers of NSABP-B32 to validate this, by contacting the node-positive patients for measurements. The lymphedema rate for SLNB alone was 0% and approached statistical significance when compared with node-negative ALND.