How to do an ultrasound or computed tomography guided hook‐wire localization excisional biopsy of non‐palpable lymph nodes

Abstract

How to do an ultrasound or computed tomography guided hook-wire localization excisional biopsy of non-palpable lymph nodes Ultrasound (US) guided hook-wire localization (HWL) is often used to aid the surgical excision of non-palpable breast lesions. The technique is rarely described in other scenarios such as excision of abnormal non-palpable lymph nodes (NPLN). Excisional biopsies may be required when fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology or core biopsies are non-diagnostic.In this article, we describe the surgical technique of both preoperative US and CT guided HWL to aid the excisional biopsy of abnormal cervical, axillary and external iliac NPLNs.