Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy

Dr. Ramon Jimenez, Chief of Melanoma and Soft Tissue Sarcoma Surgery with Miami Cancer Institute, explains melanomas will begin in the setting of a mole damaged by the sun, it will grow in place, and for some of them they can get into the lymphatic channels and spread to the regional lymph nodes.

He says a sentinel lymph node biopsy is a procedure to detect if that melanoma is spreading to the lymph nodes. "Thick melanomas with more than four millimeters have a 50% chance of going to the lymph nodes. We need to know about the lymph nodes, because that would determine if you need more treatment in addition to surgery."