At MITERA, a new surgical technique was performed by Breast Surgeon-Mammologist Ioanna Galanou for the removal of non-palpable lesions in the breast. The patient was discharged after 2 hours from surgery and returned to her daily activities and work the same day.
Until now, for non-palpable breast lesions, such as lumps or calcifications, we used the technique with wire guides called “hooks” that marked these lesions under ultrasound, mammography or MRI guidance.

The new technique for removing non-palpable breast lesions

With this technique, the non-palpable breast lesion detection device called LOCALIZERTM is used using a radio frequency tag (RFIDtag) that is inserted into the breast with the help of ultrasound, mammography or magnetic resonance imaging. The LOCALIZERTM device is suitable for locating the lesion in the breast by mammography, ultrasound or MRI examination and allows easy and accurate guidance in breast surgeries.

In this particular pioneering surgery, the placement of the tag was done with ultrasound guidance in collaboration with the Radiology Department of the Breast Center at MITERA, where the advanced technique surgery was performed with great success by Mammologist Dr. Ioanna Galanou.

This device uses for marking a tiny radio frequency tag, the so-called tag, which is passive inside the breast and begins to emit when it comes into contact with the readers handled by the breast surgeon in the operating room (probe & reader). The implantation of the tag can be carried out several days (up to months) before the surgery thus facilitating both the patient and the surgeon.

What are the advantages of the new technique?

This technology provides several advantages, such as the following:

• Placement of the tag before surgery. The patient returns home the same day even if the surgery is scheduled for days or weeks later.

• During the surgery, we look for the mass or the calcifications that need to be removed that cannot be felt. This is possible with the reading device (probe & reader) which shows us on the screen the exact distance in millimeters of the alteration that the tag carries from the identification device, thus helping in accurate detection. (Each tag has a unique ID, allowing multiple tags to be used simultaneously on the same breast if there is more than one lesion).

• Prevention of movement and change of position in the breast.

• Use of tagging in breast cancer when chemotherapy is given before surgery. In this case, the marking of the lump is necessary because in many cases the cancer disappears on imaging due to the chemotherapy, and we must have marked it in advance in order to remove the specific area with the cancerous lesion, during the surgery.

• Excellent visibility of the tag in ultrasound, mammography and MRI, with no delay and continuous signal feedback during the procedure.

• Additional confidence that the flagged fault is the one intended for removal, due to the unique ID code.

• Reduction of anxiety in the patient due to appearance and feeling and reduction of the possibility of infections.

• Reduced scheduling complexity, delays or cancellations due to multiple procedures on the day of surgery.

• Easy tag placement like any other breast marker. The Localizer with the placement of the tag can be performed as part of a simple radiological visit.

• Continuous information acquisition and approximation of desired limits during surgery.

• No additional power supply is required.

• The machine is portable and small in size and stands easily without obstructing the surgical field.

• Surgery is facilitated by the continuous visual and auditory cues it provides.