Introducing minimally invasive inguinal lymph node dissection in a UK tertiary skin cancer service: Initial experience & outcomes

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Introducing minimally invasive inguinal lymph node dissection in a UK tertiary skin cancer service: Initial experience & outcomes Via Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery : JPRAS J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2021 Oct 22:S1748-6815(21)00495-2. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2021.09.054. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT AIMS: We report the first UK case series of minimally invasive inguinal lymphadenectomy (MILND) for patients with metastatic cutaneous pathology. METHODS: This was a retrospective, single-centre, single-surgeon cohort study. Twenty-one patients who underwent MILND from May 2015 to February 2019 were included. Demographic data, disease burden, and surgical quality assurance parameters were analysed. RESULTS: Median age was 69 (IQR: 58-76) with 14 women (66%) and 7 men (33%). Eighteen (85%) patients had melanoma with the rest having other skin malignancies. The median number of nodes resected was eight (IQR:6-11) and the median N-ratio was 0.18 [0.05-1.00]. The median surgical time for the procedure was 180 minutes (IQR: 147-225) Seven (33%) patients had complications--three trivial and four (19%) grade IIIB. Only one case (the first) was converted to an open procedure. CONCLUSIONS: We report the first UK series of MILND in a cutaneous oncology service. Our results show that MILND is a safe technique that can be introduced into a busy NHS practice with a structured training program, with surgical quality assurance outcomes identical to open inguinal lymphadenectomy. Our learning curve was similar to previously published data. PMID:34824023 | DOI:10.1016/j.bjps.2021.09.054 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.