34th Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings

Objectives:

Accurate sentinel lymph node identification is crucial in staging and treatment of cancer patients, allowing more effective and less invasive surgical procedure. Objectives to determine the applicability of radiographic indirect lymphography using iomeprol and compare the effectiveness of this method to colorimetric lymphography using Patent Blue V in detecting the sentinel lymph node in bitches with mammary neoplasia.

Methods:

This study included 20 bitches with mammary neoplasia undergoing preoperative radiographic indirect lymphography with iomeprol and intraoperative color lymphography with Patent Blue V. The identification of the sentinel lymph node was evaluated and compared between the methods. Histopathological analysis was carried out on samples removed during mastectomy.

Results:

Lymph node mapping was positive for 72.72% of the nodules. Agreement between the two methods was 22.72%, with each method identifying the sentinel lymph node in 65% of the nodules. Indirect lymphography with iomeprol allowed the identification of deep lymph nodes not detected by the colorimetric method. Metastasis was confirmed in 31.81% of lymph nodes analyzed histologically.

Conclusions:

Radiographic indirect lymphography with iomeprol is promising for identifying deep sentinel lymph nodes in bitches with mammary neoplasia and color lymphography is indispensable for visualizing the lymph node during surgery. The combination of methods appears to be advantageous, potentially improving surgical planning and assertive lymphadenectomy in veterinary clinical practice.