Hi everyone,
my husband is going in tomorrow for a sentinel node biopsy and wider skin excision, the injection of the dye identified 3 nodes - one in his neck and two in his under arm. Is it likely they will remove all three? Can anyone tell me what to expect about recovery?
Initial diagnosis was nodular melanoma on a mole on his left shoulder.
Trying to keep it together and remain positive but feel very wobbly this evening….
Tia
Saffy
Hi Saffy and welcome to the online community
It's always a worrying time when someone you love is going to have an operation, although in my case it was me that had the wide local excision (WLE) and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).
Unfortunately, any of us here would only be guessing as to whether they will remove all three of the identified lymph nodes or not. The surgeon will speak to your husband before he has his operations today and will be able to tell him what he's planning on doing.
When I went for my pre-op I was given this information leaflet about having the WLE and SLNB. Although this was 4 years ago now I would imagine that this is still current. My WLE was on my upper left arm and my SLNB in my left armpit.
I was told not to do any lifting and to take things easy for the first week, gradually stepping up what I did over the next week. I could still do gentle exercise eg. going for a walk. As for driving I was told not to until I felt that I'd be able to do an emergency stop without it causing me pain. I followed their instructions and felt okay after a fortnight.
At the hospital I was told to take both paracetamol and ibuprofen immediately I got home and then to take them as directed on the packets for at least a couple of days and not wait for the operation sites to be painful before I took anything. I decided to stop after a couple of days to see how I felt and found that the areas were still uncomfortable but not enough for me to take painkillers.
By the time I went for a check-up of the wounds and my results a couple of weeks later both areas were feeling more comfortable but I found it took months for the feeling to return in the areas where I'd had the WLE and SLNB.
Do let us know how your husband gets on today and if you want to ask anything else about the ops I'm happy to help.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi Saffy
I'm glad to hear the leaflet was useful and that everything's gone well with your husband's operations. I can empathise with how uncomfortable he may be feeling. For me that did quickly wear off but then I only had one sentinel lymph node removed.
I'll be keeping everything crossed for good results. I know this is easy for me to say but try not to worry as it won't change the results but will spoil the time you have between now and then.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
