Calay News
A team of researchers from the Breast Unit of the Women’s Health Institute of the Hospital Clinico San Carlos in Madrid has used “magnetic seeds” for the first time in the surgical treatment of breast cancer. The aim of this new procedure is to perform surgery with greater precision and with less impact on the function and aesthetics of the patient. The technique has been tested in 24 patients, and the results indicate that there have been no displacement problems compared to traditional metallic markers, which may reduce the need for re-interventions and reduce hospital stays, improving oncological results.
This technique reduces sequelae and recovery time and is an innovative approach towards precision, personalization, and minimally invasive surgery in breast cancer patients. In the past, preoperative marking of breast lesions requiring a “drying” process was performed with a metal wire called a harpoon, which was less precise because the wire could move and cause bleeding.
The incorporation of this new magnetic marker in breast cancer surgery makes it possible to perform “targeted axillary surgery,” which means that only the affected nodes can be removed in certain patients, reducing perioperative complications and the functional sequelae of the arm and shoulder, and improving patients’ recovery and quality of life. The new marker is placed in the tissue, guided by ultrasound or mammography, to mark the tumor prior to surgery and help the professionals more accurately locate the cancer in the operating room and remove it in one piece with oncologic safety.
In addition, the marking of suspicious nodes before chemotherapy serves to check their response to chemotherapy treatment in cases in which it is administered before surgery, which can avoid the removal of healthy nodes and preserve the lymphatic network to avoid possible complications. In short, the use of magnetic seeds in breast cancer surgery represents an important improvement in precision and quality of life for patients.
