The use of magnetic seeds and radiofrequency identifier tags in breast surgery for non-palpable lesions

Abstract

Background: Wire-guided localisation (WGL) remains the most widely used technique to guide surgical excision of non-palpable breast lesions worldwide. However, recent technological advances have led to the advent of less invasive radiation-free localisation methods to overcome the limitations of WGL. Patients and Methods: This study prospectively evaluated the role of two radiation-free non-wire localisation methods. Magnetic seeds (n=16) and radiofrequency tags (n=6) were deployed under imaging guidance to guide the surgical excision in 19 consecutive patients. Results: The identification/retrieval and migration rates were 100% and 4.5%, respectively. Twenty-one out of 22 (95.5%) cases had clear surgical margins and no complications were observed. All radiologists and the surgeon rated these methods as being much better than wire localisation. Patient satisfaction data were recorded using a linear visual analogue scale (n=10/19). The mean score was 9.7/10 (range=8-10). Conclusion: Our study provides further evidence that radiation-free wireless breast localisation is an effective alternative to WGL.