A novel ultrasound-guided electrosurgical loop device for intra-operative excision of breast lesions; an improvement in surgical technique.

Background: The rate of involved margins after the excision of breast lesions using standard surgical techniques has historically ranged from approximately 20% to 45%. The localization and excision of breast lesions using intraoperative ultrasound has provided significant improvement. The authors report their collective experience with a novel technique utilizing the Phantom flexible loop electrosurgical device under ultrasound guidance for the intraoperative excision of breast lesions.

Association between cell membrane potential and breast cancer.

Cell membrane potentials were measured in breast tissue and in breast epithelial cells to explore the relation between cell membrane potentials, oncogenesis and electrical potentials previously measured on the surface of the breast. The mean membrane potential in breast biopsy tissue from 9 women with infiltrating ductal carcinoma was significantly depolarized, compared with values measured in tissue from 8 women with benign breast disease. Depolarization was also observed in transformed breast epithelial cells, compared with normal breast cells; the transformed cells were particularly sensitive to the action of K+ channel blockers.

Electrical potential measurements in human breast cancer and benign lesions.

Electrical potentials were measured on the breast and at other sites in 110 women with palpable breast masses. The tumor site was significantly electropositive compared with control sites only when the tumor was a cancer, as determined by a subsequent biopsy; the electrical potentials were not influenced by age or menstrual cycle. The results indicate that, on average, altered electrical potentials detected by a noninvasive measurement on the skin reflect the presence of transformed cells in patients with breast cancer.

Male breast cancer.

Male breast cancer is a rare tumor consisting only 1% of all breast cancers. Although 90% of breast masses in men are malignant, delay in diagnosis often occurs with resultant advanced local or systemic disease common. The few clinical studies on male breast cancer suggest that the disease behaves similarly to female breast cancer.

Splenic artery ligation for splenic salvage: clinical experience and immune function.

Documentation of overwhelming post-splenectomy sepsis, characterized by infection from encapsulated organisms, has led to development of surgical techniques for preservation of the injured spleen to maintain splenic clearance of encapsulated, opsonized organisms from the circulation. In this study splenic artery ligation (SAL) was performed as an adjunct to successful splenorrhaphy in 20 adults suffering blunt splenic injury. There were no deaths and no reoperations.