I had sentinel node, but found out from the surgeon that since the machine could not track the dye, they removed several. I do get a little lymphedema occasionally but have learned to deal with it quickly. I had to learn this on my own as I needed an iv for an imaging and they could not get a vein on the left and bullied me into accepting it on the right and well you know what happened. The good news is that I had a great oncology nurse who explained to me about it and why I should protect it. That woman was the saint that saved me much grief over the last years. Getting me compression sleeves and teaching me where to get help when I need it. You are a very smart person to be looking into this and educating yourself, if it happens, fight for that referral because no suffering should be silenced. If I learned anything from being at Mayo Clinic, that was it.