Is Axillary Lymph Node Dissection by Ultrasonic Dissector Advantageous?

Abstract

There are conflicting reports about the merits of an Ultrasonic Dissector for Axillary Lymph Node Dissection (ALND) in Carcinoma breasts. Ours was a retrospective study to analyse its advantages and possible disadvantages. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 86 patients who underwent (ALND Level 2 and Level 3) with Ultrasonic Dissector, for Breast Cancer, in terms of intraoperative and postoperative outcomes. There was a reduction in ALND time. ALND Level 2: 15.99 (standard deviation [SD] ±6.45) min and ALND Level 3: 21.09 (SD ± 9.25) min. Intraoperative blood loss was minimal at <25 mL, no instances of reactionary hemorrhage, wound, or flap complications. There was a reduction in operative time, incidence of seroma and postoperative pain, with no instances of reactionary hemorrhage, hematoma, wound and flap complications.