Vulva and lower limb cancer: Results of inguinal lymph node staging on 81 cases

Background: The objective of this work completed at the Cancer Institute in Dakar is to report the results of inguinal lymph node dissection in cancers of the lower limb and of the lower genital tract. Methods: This is a retrospective study over a 10-year period. The parameters being studied are histological type, lymph node involvement, postoperative morbidity, recurrence, and survival. Results: 81 patients received surgery over a period of 7 years. The average age of our patients was 61. The sex ratio is 0.74 with 34 men and 47 women. There were 70 cases of cancer of the lower limbs (86%) and 11 cases of cancer of the vulva (14%). The most common histological type was squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with 41 cases (51%). Clinical inguinal involvement was noted in 58 patients (72.5%) with palpable lymph nodes. All vulvar cancer patients developed histologically positive nodes. Melanoma patients were more susceptible to developing positive nodes. In sarcoma there were more matches between clinical and histological positive nodes. No vascular and nerve damage was reported. The average length of hospitalization was 5 days, with 3 days being the shortest stay, and 40 days the longest stay. Local complications consisted of suture releases in 9 cases, and 6 surgical necrosis of the wound. A seroma was found with an average duration of 35 days in 69 patients (85%). Postoperative deaths occurred in 5 cases (6%), 1 after a renal failure, 1 due to thromboembolic disease, 1 due to sepsis, and 2 deaths occurred after patients experienced respiratory distress. Conclusion: After five years of follow-up care, no patient presented chronic sequelae after inguinal dissection, 7 patients (8.75%) had local recurrence, and 4 patients (7.7%) had lymph node metastases. We recorded 33 cancer-related deaths (41%). Chronic complications, including lymphedema are underestimated and require better assessment methods for prevention and treatment.