Percutaneous contrast-enhanced ultrasound for localization and qualitative diagnosis of sentinel lymph nodes in cutaneous malignant melanoma of lower extremities: a preliminary study

To explore the feasibility of sentinel lymph node (SLN) tracing by percutaneous contrast-enhanced ultrasound (pCEUS) in patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) and the ability to enhance patterns of SLNs in diagnosing lymph nodes (LNs) metastases.Fifty-three patients with CMM of the lower extremities treated at our hospital were included in the study. All the participants received pCEUS preoperatively. The enhanced lymphatic channels...