The Number of Nodes Removed When Performing Targeted Axillary Dissection and Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Breast Cancer Patients

Background: Reduction of surgical burden in the axilla has become a hot topic in the last few years. Multiple studies have shown the benefit of minimal approach in the axilla. We have looked into how many nodes were removed using targeted axillary dissection in our centre. Methods: Retrospective study in single centre - University Hospital Olomouc, that performs targeted axillary dissection routinely since 2019. All patients above 18 undergoing TAD have been included. Results: 190 patients' data have been included and analysed. The mean, median and mode of number of removed nodes were 3.64, 3 and 3 respectively. This showed significantly lower surgical burden as compared to axillary clearance. Discussion: Although in some cases, higher numbers of nodes have been removed for various reasons, the average number is 3. This provides significant improvement from axillary clearance these patients would have been exposed to decades ago.