Abstract: Objective To study the pathologic changes of lymph node between mastoscopic and conventional axillary lymph node dissection.Methods A group of 200 consecutive patients with operable breast cancer were prospectively randomized to undergo axillary lymph node dissection by mastoscopic or conventional approach. The total lymph node numbers, ratio of metastatic lymph node, mean lymph nodes harvested, mean lymph node size and pathologic changes of lymph node were compared. Results There was no significant difference (P>0.05) between the two groups regarding the total lymph node numbers(1 781 in mastoscopic group vs 1 737 in conventional group), ratio of metastatic lymph node(11.9％vs 13.4％), mean lymph nodes harvested(17.8±5.8 vs 17.4±4.9), mean lymph node size (0.33 vs 0.38 cm). The morphologic changes included rupture of the membrane of lymph node, hemorrhage in lymph node, capsular detachment and fragmentation. The change was 6.8% for the mastoscopic group versus 6.2% for the conventional group in total 3 518 lymph nodes in the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion Compared with conventional axillary lymph node dissection, mastoscopic axillary lymph node dissection by liposuction did not affect the pathologic characteristics of lymph nodes. It did not cause more injury to lymph nodes. This operation is safe and useful in the oncology.

Key words: breast neoplasm, endoscopy, axiallary lymph node dissection, lymph node, pathologic change