Single modality indocyanine green is feasible for sentinel node detection in head and neck cutaneous melanoma: a prospective study

Background: Lymph node status is an important prognostic factor in cutaneous head and neck melanomas, with sentinel lymph node biopsies (SLNBs) used to determine occult disease. While studies have analysed dual modality SLNB techniques based on radiocolloid lymphoscintigraphy in combination with either blue dye or near-infrared imaging with indocyanine green (ICG) dye, no studies to date have examined the technique of using ICG alone. This study examined the feasibility of ICG as a single modality for detecting sentinel nodes in cutaneous head and neck melanomas.