Another method of reducing risk for lymphedema is a technique called "reverse arm mapping.""The lymph nodes that drain the arm are sometimes removed during breast cancer surgery because they're situated within the armpit (axilla) in the same area as the lymph nodes that relate to the breast. With reverse arm mapping, we inject dye into the patient's arm to differentiate the two kinds of lymph nodes. This allows the surgeon to avoid removing any nodes related to arm drainage while still accurately identifying the sentinel nodes, which are important for breast cancer evaluation and treatment,"says Dr. Feldman. "This should reduce the risk of developing lymphedema."

Arm mapping is part of a larger trend toward reducing or eliminating the need to remove a woman's lymph nodes -- thereby reducing the incidence of lymphedema. Beginning in the 1990s, sentinel node biopsy used dye injected into the breast to target the sentinel lymph node, the gatekeeper to the axilla and the one most at risk for cancer spread. Today, the latest research indicates that fewer patients need any lymph nodes removed than previously thought. Even if the sentinel node is shown to be positive, patients with early-stage breast cancer who are treated with lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation may not need to have any further lymph nodes removed.

Source: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital