Background: Intraoperative ultrasound guided (IUG) breast conserving surgery (BCS) is being increasingly embraced by breast surgeons worldwide. We aimed to compare the efficacy of IUG-BCS for palpable and nonpalpable breast cancer with respect to margin status, re-excision rate, tissue sacrifice and cost-time analysis.
Methods: Intraoperative localization protocol includes intraoperative ultrasound prior to excision to localize the lesion and guide the initial resection. The excised specimen was then examined visually and by palpation and the specimen and cavity was examined with ultrasound. Frozen sections were obtained routinely from a portion of all six faces of the resected specimen, and shaved cavity margins were sent for permanent histology.
Results: Of the 208 patients, 57.2% had nonpalpable tumors. The sensitivity of ultrasound localization was 100%. Negative margins were achieved in 92.43% of nonpalpable and 91.01% of palpable lesions at initial procedure. The involved margins were correctly identified by the surgeon via specimen sonography in 95.4% of cases. Final positive margin rate was 2.4%. Calculated resection ratio and time analysis revealed nothing significant.
Conclusion: IUG-BCS is an invaluable and effective modality for obtaining clear surgical margins with optimum resection volumes and reducing re-operations. Furthermore, by means of this algorithm, in case of shaving cavity margins of the tumor bed for permanent analysis, frozen section evaluation might be omitted.
Keywords: Breast cancer; Breast conserving surgery; Intraoperative ultrasound.
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