title: Charcoal suspension tattoo: new tool for the localization of malignant laterocervical lymph nodes.
abstract: We present a retrospective study to evaluate safety and effectiveness of ultrasound (US)-guided tattooing with charcoal of suspicious laterocervical lymph nodes. When an open biopsy of a laterocervical lymph node is needed, the choice of the lymph node to excise and examine is fundamental to avoid rebiopsy. Surgeons tend to choose the most surgical approachable enlarged lymph node that does not always correspond to the one with worst echographic aspect. We present 16 cases of patients with laterocervical adenopathy with inconclusive or non-adequate results at fine needle aspiration cytology addressed to open biopsy. Those patients underwent US-guided preoperative injection of a charcoal suspension inside the lymph node to excise to mark it, and then excisional biopsy was performed. Sixteen marked lesions (100 %) were detected intraoperatively and dissected. The injected charcoal was detected intraoperatively in all cases. In 14 patients (87, 5 %) it was inside the lesion; in two cases (12, 5 %), the charcoal suspension was found in the tissues above the lesion. The procedure was well tolerated in all cases. No major procedure-related complications were encountered. US-guided charcoal tattooing is a new, safe, well-tolerated, and easy-to-perform technique for the marking of US suspicious laterocervical lymph nodes. This preliminary study shows a high technical success rate (76 %) and high percentage of intraoperative detection of marked lesions (100 %) with a low rate of complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Cattinara Hospital, University of Trieste, Strada di Fiume 447, 34149, Trieste, Italy. nicolettagardenal@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tirelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cova
authors.affiliation: Clinical Unit of Pathological Anatomy and Histology, Department of Medical Science, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zanconati
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Makuc
authors.affiliation: Clinical Unit of Pathological Anatomy and Histology, Department of Medical Science, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bonazza
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Cattinara Hospital, University of Trieste, Strada di Fiume 447, 34149, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tofanelli
authors.affiliation: Division of Oral Medicine and Pathology, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Lenarda
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Cattinara Hospital, University of Trieste, Strada di Fiume 447, 34149, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gardenal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle / Q000379:methods; D002606:Charcoal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013653:Tattooing / Q000379:methods*; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional
chemical_list: D002606:Charcoal
keywords: Biopsy; Charcoal; Echography; Lymph node; Lymphoma; Neck mass