Advances in breast surgery

The images provided by Intraoperative Ultrasound (IU) assist the surgeon in the extirpation of non-palpable breast lesions. In these cases, IU will replace other techniques such as needle localization.

One of the most notable latest advances in the treatment of breast pathology is use of Intraoperative Ultrasound in the operating theatre as a means of extirpating non-palpable mammary lesions (in the initial phase). The IU solves the problems of lack of precision and the complications arising from the insertion of a fine needle, the method used for the localization of non-palpable breast lesions to date.

Thanks to the images provided by the IU, the surgeon is able to monitor the lesion at all times and select the best place to make the incision, as well as being able to assure in real time that the excision has been performed in its entirety and that the margins of the extirpated area have the necessary diameter (at least 1 centimetre). The time it takes to carry out the procedure is also reduced, since the tissue does not have to be taken to Radiology for the post-excision mammography. The IU can only be used by a highly experienced specialist, both in the ultrasound employed in the consulting room and in the performance of ultrasound-guided biopsies.

The number of cases of early diagnosis of breast cancer has grown in recent years thanks to the increasingly frequent use of mammography as a method of screening, which enables non-palpable lesions or those in a primary stage to be detected.