Lymph Node Retrieval In Vitro Under Direct Near-Infrared (NIR) Imaging After Laparoscopic Gastrectomy and Tracer-Guided Lymph Node Dissection for Gastric Cancer

Radical lymphadenectomy can improve tumor staging accuracy and long-term survival of patients with gastric cancer. The procedure is typically performed by eye and depends on a surgeon’s experience. Indocyanine green (ICG) NIR fluorescent imaging has improved sentinel lymph node localization in other cancers and has been incorporated into laparoscopic device technology. This procedure video illustrates in vitro ICG tracer-guided lymph node dissection under NIR imaging from soft tissue retrieved during a laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Click the Related Article link for a video of the preoperative ICG injection and of the lymph node dissection procedures as well as for a complete discussion of the findings from a trial comparing it with non-ICG tracer-guided lymph node dissection.