Invasive ultrasound at the Breast Care Clinic of Patras
As we explain on the breast ultrasound page, it is a very valuable tool in our hands. When your radiologist checks you with the ultrasound, he or she performs what is called a diagnostic breast ultrasound. At the Breast Care Clinic of Patras, when required, we apply the use of ultrasound to perform minimally invasive breast surgery. This is called interventional breast ultrasound. The Breast Surgeon – Specialist Breast Surgeon of the Breast Care Clinic of Patras Ioannis Haveles has been trained and certified after theoretical and practical examinations in performing minimally invasive interventions under ultrasound guidance, in Great Britain, in a two-year training program (2014-2016).
Scope of uses of interventional ultrasound in the Breast Clinic
Ultrasound-guided breast biopsy
Any lump, either palpable or microscopic found on mammography, if visible on ultrasound,
is accessible for biopsy under local anesthesia in the office, a method of high accuracy and low cost.
The benefits of this globally applied tactic:
- We avoid the wait and uncertainty caused by the tactic of monitoring a breast lump
- We reduce the need for surgery to obtain a biopsy and make a diagnosis
.
Sound-guided aspiration of breast cysts
A high percentage of women have breast cysts and as we discuss on the related page, breast cysts are harmless. When they grow excessively, they cause symptoms. That’s when it’s time for aspiration of smooth breast cysts. In clearly palpable superficial cysts this can be done without guidance. Many times, however, symptoms of breast pain are caused by cysts deep in the breast gland. These are identified and suctioned out with a single puncture, without pain, discomfort or any extra cost to you.
Sound guided suctioning of a lactocele or blocked breast duct
As discussed on the related page, there are specific breast conditions in pregnancy and lactation. These often need some intervention on the part of the breast surgeon. In a milk producing breast the precision offered by the interventional breast ultrasound approach is lifesaving. We can avoid excessive trauma by reducing the chances of complications such as lacteal skin fistula. In this way we decompress the breast of the breastfeeding woman so that the obstruction does not result in lactation mastitis.
Sound-guided breast abscess aspiration
In case of mastitis, either of lactation or other etiology, invasive breast ultrasound allows us to check for abscess formation. Thus, while the patient is receiving her antibiotic treatment, we aspirate the fluid collection that forms inside the breast. When this treatment tactic is applied early in the onset of the disease, we avoid the need for surgical opening of a breast abscess. The benefits? No incision, no open wound and dressings, no continuous wound changes for at least two weeks.
Sound-guided marking of a nonpalpable lump with guide wire
Done when preoperative screening of a nonpalpable lump indicates that surgery is required. Under local anesthesia, at the Breast Care Clinic, a procedure similar to a biopsy of the lump is followed. Using invasive ultrasound, a special soft wire is guided into the lump. The guide wire is secured under a small bandage and the patient is taken to the operating room. There, the breast surgeon follows the wire and removes the lump precisely and without undue damage to the breast. The patient is the winner, having the fastest recovery and an excellent long-term cosmetic result.
