What an Image Guided Breast Biopsy Is
Breast biopsies are performed when suspicious calcifications are seen on mammography, or
when a mass or lump that is felt on breast self examination or during a routine physical,
that represents a suspicious area on ultrasound. A biopsy is necessary to determine if the
lump is cancerous, as imaging studies alone cannot provide a specific diagnosis on which to
base treatment decisions. On average, in one third of the women who go to diagnostic biopsy,
the result will be either precancerous or cancerous and actual surgery will be necessary.
In the two thirds of women where this is not the case, no further procedure is necessary to
confirm the benign or non- cancerous diagnosis.
All breast biopsy for initial diagnosis should be performed using image guided needle biopsy
methods in an outpatient center, and requires local anesthetic only. These methods allow a
specialty trained breast radiologist to access the abnormal tissue without surgery while
maintaining the same accuracy as surgery. Invision Breast radiologists use image guidance
(ultrasound, MRI, or mammography) in performing biopsies to obtain tissue from the right spot
and to avoid injuring important nearby body parts including breast implants. During a needle
biopsy, a small amount of tissue is removed from the abnormal area with a special automated
needle and then sent to a pathologist for microscopic evaluation. This tissue analysis is an
overnight process.
Sally Jobe/Invision radiologists continue to have great success in precisely sampling breast
lumps and abnormalities that can be visualized with imaging technology. The specific type of
needle biopsy will depend on the location of the lump and other factors.
Invision Sally Jobe offers breast biopsies through the Centrum Surgical Center in the South Denver
Metro area of Colorado.
Types of Image Guided Breast Biopsies
Following are the biopsies performed by Radiology Imaging Associates radiologists:
| Biopsy Type |
Description |
| Ultrasound Guided Automated Needle Core |
- Uses ultrasound guidance for accurate needle placement
- A marker is left at the location of the biopsy
|
| Ultrasound Guided Vacuum Assisted |
- Uses a special needle with a vacuum attachment to extract tissue
- Uses ultrasound guidance for accurate needle placement
- A marker is left at the location of the biopsy
|
| Stereotactic Mammography Guided Vacuum Assisted |
- Uses a special needle with a vacuum attachment to extract tissue
- Uses computerized mammography for accurate needle placement
- Used for evaluating calcium deposits seen on mammography and suspicious
densities seen on mammography but not by ultrasound
- A marker is left at the location of the biopsy
|
| MRI Guided Vacuum Assisted |
- Requires an MRI exam with intravenous contrast injection
- Used to biopsy breast abnormalities seen only by MRI
- A marker is left at the location of the biopsy
|
| Needle Localization for Surgical Excision |
- Performed the day of surgery to mark the location of the abnormal tissue for the surgeon
- Uses ultrasound or mammography guidance for accurate placement of localization wires
- Allows the surgeon to remove a smaller amount of tissue for examination with confidence
- Needle localization is performed by Invision Sally Jobe radiologists, but the surgery which follows is not
|
| Needle Localization for Sentinel Node Breast Biopsy |
- May be done prior to a surgical sentinel node biopsy on the day of surgery to mark the location of the sentinel node(s) for the surgeon
- Allows the surgeon to remove fewer lymph nodes to test for the spread of breast cancer, and helps to decrease time of operation
- Uses a small amount of radioactive tracer to help identify the sentinel node(s)
- Uses ultrasound to locate the sentinel lymph node and guide placement of the localization wire
- Needle localization is performed by Invision Sally Jobe radiologists, but the surgical removal of the sentinel node is performed by the surgeon
|