Step 5. Definition of the caudal boundary A. Mattei, Christoph Würnschimmel, Pietro Grande, Giovanni Battista Di Pierro

Caudally, the lymph node dissection starts with incision of the adventitia overlying the external iliac vein at the entry of the femoral canal with isolation of the lymph pathways coming from the lower extremities. The lymphatic vessels are coagulated and transected. The lymphatic tissue is dissected along the surface of the external iliac vein toward the iliac bifurcation. The lymphatics over the external iliac artery are left intact.