To assist the surgeon in localizing the lymphatic drainage route for patients with breast cancer.

There are no special preparation instructions for the injection portion of this test. 

However, you should follow whatever instructions the office gave you for the surgery to follow.

After you have been through the admission process, either the ultrasound or mammography department will send an aide to transport you to their department. 

The radiologist and either a sonographer or a mammographer will explain the process to you prior to injection of the radiopharmaceutical reagent. 

You will probably receive 2 small injections around the breast tumor.  You will be transported back to the pre-operative area until your scheduled surgery time.

If you have any technical questions specific to this procedure, please don’t hesitate to ask the technologist or the radiologist at injection time.  All clinical questions should be directed to your physician.

The injection process usually takes about 30 minutes and is performed by a radiologist under ultrasound or xray guidance.  

If your physician has requested “injection only” there are no images.

No complications are expected from this procedure.

Studies of the health effects of radiation have shown that high doses of radiation can cause cancer.  However, this hospital procedure requires that we inject you with a very low level of radioactive material. 

The risk from lower doses of radiation, such as you will receive during this exam, is uncertain.  Most scientists believe that the risk is very small.  Certainly, the benefits received from the exam far outweigh the small risk associated with this procedure