BMJ  2004;329:1272-1276 (27 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7477.1272

Clinical review

Surgical management of metastatic inguinal lymphadenopathy

¹ Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford OX2 6HE

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Introduction

Inguinal lymphadenectomy, or groin dissection, has a key role in the management of patients with penile, vulval, anal, and cutaneous malignancy. About 500 procedures are performed in the United Kingdom each year by general, gynaecological, plastic, and urological surgeons. Groin dissection is associated with high postoperative morbidity, chiefly related to wound healing and lymphoedema. As the preoperative diagnosis and postoperative care of these patients may also involve general practitioners, oncologists, dermatologists, and specialist nurses, this review is aimed at providing a concise yet comprehensive summary of the key aspects of managing inguinal lymph nodes.

Methods

We searched the Cochrane Library and Medline online databases, using the terms "inguinal lymphadenectomy", "groin dissection", and "sentinel lymph node biopsy", combined with "melanoma", or "carcinoma" and either "vulva", "penis", or "anus". We reviewed abstracts and selected relevant articles.

Pathology

Tumours of the male genital tract
Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common tumour of the penis (table 1, accounting for . . . [Full text of this article]

Tumours of the female genital tract
Cutaneous tumours
Tumours of the gastrointestinal tract

Clinically relevant anatomy

Clinical assessment

Investigations

Prophylactic versus therapeutic inguinal lymphadenectomy

Sentinel lymph node biopsy

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Surgical approach

Postoperative course

Postoperative complications

Conclusions

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• Gibson, S. C, Kettlewell, S., Byrne, D. S, McKay, A. J (2005). Surgical management of metastatic inguinal lymphadenopathy: The term deep inguinal nodes should be abandoned. BMJ 330: 538-539 [Full text]  

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