Melanoma Lymphoscintigraphy Study

A lymphoscintigraphy study shows the flow of lymph from the site of injection through the draining lymphatics and into the sentinel lymph node(s). The sentinel lymph node is the first lymph node that receives drainage from a cancer site. A melanoma lymphoscintigraphy study is done to help detect the sentinel node to be removed during the surgery. There may be more than one sentinel node. If the removed sentinel node is examined by a pathologist and found to be healthy, the chance of finding cancer in the remaining nodes is small.  

Depending on the location of the disease and the surgery arrangement this test may be done on the day of the surgery, the day before the surgery or on two different days including pre-mapping study (done some days prior to your surgery) and on the day of the surgery.

When you arrive in the department, a technologist will explain the entire procedure to you and then give you the opportunity to ask any questions. Depending on the area of the body where you have the melanoma, you may be asked to change into hospital gowns for the test. The technologist will then ask you to lie on an imaging table to begin the study. You will receive four to six injections of a radioactive tracer near the skin lesion site, just below the skin’s surface. There are no known side effects from these injections. The technologist will then use a special detector, called a gamma camera, to take several images of your body to detect draining lymph node(s). Additional three-dimensional images may also be acquired. 

Depending on your lymphatic flow and the day of your surgery, this procedure can take anywhere from one to two hours. Occasionally, imaging may be acquired longer than 2 hours. 

• Bring your Health card.
• No special preparation is required for this test. However, you will likely be required to fast after midnight if you are having the surgery on the same day.  
• Please leave all valuables at home.
• Please notify our booking office at the time of scheduling your appointment if you have any concerns regarding claustrophobia, lying still, require a mechanical lift for transfer to the imaging bed, have a language barrier or any other special needs, so that appropriate arrangements can be made ahead to provide you with the best possible care.

The injection may hurt. You may also experience a burning sensation as the tracer is injected under the skin. This is normal and usually passes quickly. 

The injection contains a small amount of radioactive tracer which emits gamma rays (these are similar to X-rays). The radiation dose is very low and will disappear by itself after two days. The results of your scan will give your doctor useful information about your condition and will help them plan your treatment. The benefits of having the scan far outweigh any potential risk from the small radiation dose. 

No special precautions are needed after the scan. If you are travelling across any borders in the seven days after your scan, please ask us for further advice. Border crossings and airports have very sensitive radiation detectors which may pick up tiny amounts of radioactivity remaining after your scan. We will give you a letter that you can show to customs officials at border crossings or airports. 

Please tell us if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. 

Breastfeeding must be interrupted for up to 4 hours after the exam, during which time one milk meal should be pumped and discarded. Prepare for your exam accordingly. 

A specially trained doctor will examine the pictures. This is normally done soon after the end of the scan. A report is then sent to the doctor who asked us to do the scan. Your doctor will normally receive the report within one week. You will also have access to the report on MyChart as soon as it is released. 

If you have questions about the scan results or report, please contact your doctor directly. They are best able to interpret the report for you. 

No. This test is paid for by the healthcare system. The test costs several hundred dollars, so please notify the department at 613-761-4831 if you cannot make your appointment. 

If you cannot make your appointment, it is important that you notify the department at 613-761-4831 as soon as possible. Failure to make your appointment results in wasting of expensive materials that are ordered especially for your appointment and also reduces availability to other patients. Missed appointments may also result in delays of your treatments.