Lymphoscintigraphic drainage patterns of the auricle in healthy subjects

• Published in: Head & neck Vol. 27; no. 10; pp. 893 - 900
• Main Authors: Aydın, Mustafa Asım, Okudan, Berna, Aydın, Zeynep Dilek, Özbek, Feride Meltem, Nasır, Serdar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.10.2005; John Wiley & Sons
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Auricle; Basins; Biological and medical sciences; Drainage; Ear; Female; Head; Head and neck; Humans; Injections; Lymph nodes; Lymph Nodes - diagnostic imaging; Lymphatic Metastasis - diagnostic imaging; lymphoscintigraphy; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neck; Organotechnetium Compounds - administration & dosage; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Parotid Gland; Predictive Value of Tests; Radionuclide Imaging; Reproducibility of Results; sentinel lymph node; Territory; Tumors; Radionuclide study; Human; lymphoscintigraphy; Lymphatic system; Healthy subject; Sentinel lymph node; Stomatology; ENT; auricle; Scintigraphy; Drainage; Pinna; Surgery; Medical imagery
• ISSN: 1043-3074; 1097-0347
• DOI: 10.1002/hed.20255

Background. In lymphoscintigraphies of the head and neck, multiple injections around a tumor result in variable drainage to multiple nodal basins. We undertook this study in healthy subjects to test whether single injections at specified points in the auricle display single predictable pathways and predict visualization of parotid sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). Methods. Twenty‐five healthy subjects were classified according to their injection points in the auricle. Each was injected bilaterally with 99mTc nanocolloid. Parotid and extraparotid lymph nodes were topographically differentiated. The procedure was repeated 1 week later. Results. Lymphoscintigraphy was reproducible. Each injection revealed a single SLN. Injection site predicted parotid SLN visualization. Two lymphatic territories with parotid or extraparotid drainage were identified. Conclusions. Lymphatic territories in the auricle coincide with the vascular territories and branchial origins. Our findings contradict the notion that lymphatic drainage of the head and neck is unpredictable and variably involves multiple nodal basins. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 27: XXX–XXX, 2005