The researchers are doing this study to see if having immediate lymphatic reconstruction after axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) can decrease the development of lymphedema, a side effect of ALND. Other purposes of the study include:

Comparing the approach of immediate lymphatic reconstruction after ALND with the approach of ALND alone Looking at whether having immediate lymphatic reconstruction after ALND improves a person's quality of life Seeing if adding standard of care radiation therapy to either study approach (immediate lymphatic reconstruction after ALND or ALND alone) has an effect on development of lymphedema

Inclusion Criteria:

• Female breast cancer patients 18-75 years of age
• Patients consenting for unilateral ALND (prior history of SLNBx allowed if <6 months from consent) OR patients consenting for unilateral SLNBx with possible ALND, with a clinically or radiographically positive lymph node OR a high likelihood of ALND per the Breast Surgeon
• Identification of at least one transected lymphatic channel and at least one vein to be used for bypass at the time of ALND during surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

• Male breast cancer patients
• Non-English speaking participants
• Female breast cancer patients with axillary recurrence
• Female breast cancer patients who have a history of ALND
• Female patients requiring bilateral ALND for the treatment of their breast cancer
• Female breast patients treated with SLNBx only

Breast Cancer

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center supports the international committee of medical journal editors (ICMJE) and the ethical obligation of responsible sharing of data from clinical trials. The protocol summary, a statistical summary, and informed consent form will be made available on clinicaltrials.gov when required as a condition of Federal awards, other agreements supporting the research and/or as otherwise required. Requests for deidentified individual participant data can be made beginning 12 months after publication and for up to 36 months post publication. Deidentified individual participant data reported in the manuscript will be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement and may only be used for approved proposals. Requests may be made to: crdatashare@mskcc.org.