Intraoperative digital specimen mammography: rapid, accurate results expedite surgery.

Introduction: Specimen mammography during image guided breast surgery is a daily occurrence. The process of specimen travel, imaging and reporting may take 20-30 minutes. An intraoperative method to obtain digital specimen mammograms may expedite the process.

Intraoperative digital specimen mammography: prompt image review speeds surgery.

Specimen mammograms are often a time-consuming event for image-guided surgery. The use of an intraoperative imaging device may improve the speed of surgery, but comparison must be made to ensure accuracy is maintained. One hundred fifty consecutive image localized patients underwent both intraoperative digital specimen mammogram (in the operating room) and standard specimen mammogram (in radiology).

Digital documentation of the physical examination: moving the clinical breast exam to the electronic medical record.

Background: Documentation of the clinical breast examination (CBE) has consisted of simple hand-drawings and stick figures without a common lexicon. There is a need for a device that can accurately depict the CBE in digital format while being objective, reproducible over time, and useable in the electronic medical record. This new device is called palpation imaging (PI).

Inferior vena cava filling defects on CT and MRI.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to describe the appearance and causes of inferior vena cava (IVC) filling defects, how such findings may be accurately characterized, and the clinical significance of IVC filling defects. Filling defects in the IVC observed at MDCT and MRI may be a result of flow artifacts, anatomic variants, or bland or malignant thrombus.

Conclusion: Familiarity with anatomy and flow effects is critical for distinguishing true from false filling defects in the IVC.

Encircling guidewire facilitates complete excision of image-localized breast lesions.

Background: An innovative encircling guidewire defines three sides of a target lesion with a single puncture to achieve negative margins.

Methods: Twenty-five patients requiring image-guided surgery were localized with an encircling guidewire. Although the deployed wire is circular, it is straight when placed, using a straight outer needle.

Intraoperative ultrasonography guidance is accurate and efficient according to results in 100 breast cancer patients.

Background: The frequency of nonpalpable breast cancer has doubled in the last 10 years. Surgical use of high quality portable ultrasound units has made it possible to evaluate the time-saving method of intraoperative ultrasonography localization.

Methods: Ultrasonography localization in the operating room immediately prior to definitive surgery was performed by the surgeon.