Skin Staining After Injection of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide for Sentinel Lymph Node Dissection: A Retrospective Study of Two Protocols for Injection and Long-Term Follow-Up

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) dissection is a highly accurate surgical procedure allowing detection of lymph node invasion in patients with clinically negative axilla in early breast cancer. Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) is a marker used during SLN procedure, allowing the same detection rate as isotopes (Tc-99). A drawback of SPIO is skin staining that can occur around the injection site. The goal of this retrospective study was to assess the frequency of skin staining after oncological breast surgery with SPIO, and the impact of two different injection protocols on the rate of skin staining.