Radioactive Seed Localization Offers a New Option Against Breast ...

Memorial Sloan-Kettering is the only facility in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, to provide a new technique against breast cancer. The technique, radioactive seed localization, uses very small radioactive substances, called seeds, to identify the location of breast cancer before removal.

The procedure includes inserting these ?seeds? into the breast of the patient. These seeds, with its radioactive features, help in guiding breast surgeons in locating the exact site of cancer. In the operation room, a handheld radiation detection system is used to reach the location of the cancer. The cancer is then removed along the radioactive seeds. The latter are safely disposed by radiation safety officers. Radioactive seed localization can be very useful in case of small breast cancers the do not appear in mammograms.

Monica Morrow, MD, Chief of the Breast Surgical Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, said "Seed localization has improved our patients' experience by allowing them to go directly to the operating room - bypassing the need for breast needle localization - on the day of their lumpectomy," Dr. Morrow continued "It is more convenient because it avoids the need for a wire in the breast for several hours, which many patients find uncomfortable."

Elizabeth Morris, MD, Chief of the Breast Imaging Service, along with Jean St. Germain, an attending physicist and radiation safety officer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, were the first to use radioactive seed localization at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. The new technique has been used on 250 patients at the facility since December 2011.

Ms. St. Germain said "Getting this technique up and running took months of training and coordination among experts in radiology, surgery, medical physics, and pathology to make certain that the procedure would be safe and effective for our patients," adding "This collaboration has ultimately improved our efficiency as well as provided a better surgical experience for our patients."

Source: http://www.healthimaginghub.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3701&Itemid=127

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