Forest Hills Hospital's Minimally Invasive Breast Biopsy Offers Many Advantages
March 15, 2007
“The fact is, about 80% of abnormalities are benign,” Dr. Sung said “For a benign pathology – why should a woman go through a traditional biopsy – which often leaves a sizable scar? The minimally invasive approach is completed in a third of the time and provides a much speedier recovery.” Dr. Sung said patients are back to work within 24 hours with the stereotactic procedure. With the traditional more invasive surgery, recovery time is a minimum of three days to a week. He explained that the approach he takes is to “cut for treatment purposes only.” Most diagnoses can be made without cutting into the patient, he said. And while there are some cases that require you to do a biopsy in the traditional way – those instances are becoming fewer and fewer. In most cases, a diagnosis can be made through a stereotactic minimally invasive approach. At Forest Hills, surgeon and radiologist collaborate on the biopsy procedure, treating between 200 to 300 patients annually. “We diagnose at stage zero, intraductal carcinoma. Our ability to do this means that lesions remain confined and don’t travel to the lymph nodes.” Dr. Sung said. He described the minimally invasive procedure as one in which a patient lies on her stomach, so the breast can fit into a pre-cut hole on a special computerized mammography machine. This enables the doctor to take a three dimensional picture of the breast and photograph the lesion. “The computer pinpoints the tissue abnormality, calculates its depth allowing us to excise the lesion – not excess healthy tissue. We insert a titanium clip to show us exactly where the lesion was excised from in case we get a positive result for cancer, so we can go back in and remove one centimeter around the area of the abnormality.” Dr. Sung said though Forest Hills has been doing the minimally invasive breast biopsy diagnosis for one year, many women are still unaware of the benefits of the procedure. “In most cases, there’s really no reason to do an open biopsy,” he said. “For cosmetic purposes and speedy recovery this is really the only way to go.” For more information call Dr. Sung at Forest Hills Hospital at (718) 830-4059. Media Contacts: Ted Lehmann 718-830-1964 Brian Mulligan 516-465-2618 |
