Complications following lymphadenectomy: a prospective study in canine patients.

Abstract

Lymphadenectomy is an essential procedure to assess the lymph nodes (LNs) status in many clinical situations, as staging of neoplasia. The aim of this prospective study was to describe the complications associated with lymphadenectomy of peripheral lymph centers, evaluating their occurrence, duration, and treatment. The study includes patients undergoing lymphadenectomy between April 2021 and August 2022 at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Parma. Postoperative complications were evaluated in the immediate postoperative period and during the month after surgery. A total of 64 lymphadenectomies performed in 50 dogs could be considered for the statistical analysis. The complication rate was 69% (44/64 cases), and the total number of complications was 44. Complications were oedema (89%), lameness (7%), dehiscence (2%) and seroma (2%). Only 1 of 64 lymphadenectomies had a severe complication caused by a dehiscence that required a revision surgery, while 2 of 64 had a moderate complication that required medical treatment with corticosteroids. The median time to onset of the complications was 1 day (range 1-7), and the median duration of the complications was 4.5 days (range 1-35). Even if any of the variables evaluated were statistically significant, the risk of oedema seemed to be increased in case of en bloc excision of mandibular and retropharyngeal LNs, the use of methylene blue dye and the mandibular lymphadenectomy alone. Lymphadenectomy of the popliteal LN appeared to be the safest surgery. The lameness was correlated with axillary lymph node dissection, and this could be explained with the anatomical site of LN close to nerves and vasculature. Time of lymphadenectomy (LT) seemed to play an important role in the occurrence of complications, although not statistical significance was found. 2 The results of the present study show that lymphadenectomy of superficial LNs is a safe procedure, despite the high rate of minor complications. All these complications seem to be self- limiting and resolve completely during the month of follow-up.