Divine Savior Healthcare and board-certified general surgeon Dr. Matthew Lynch are pleased to now offer patients faced with a suspicious mammogram or small breast lump a less invasive breast biopsy that will keep them out of the operating room and eliminate the stitches and scarring associated with a traditional open surgical biopsy.

The procedure is performed with the Mammotome Breast Biopsy System, a minimally invasive breast biopsy device that allows doctors to biopsy suspicious tissue through a tiny incision in less than an hour with an immediate recovery.  The biopsy is performed in Dr. Lynch's office at Divine Savior, rather than the operating room.

Studies show biopsies performed with the Mammotome are as diagnostically reliable as open surgical biopsies in determining if a woman has breast cancer.

"I believe that, whenever possible, a minimally invasive breast biopsy should be performed rather than an open surgical biopsy," Lynch said.  "Now women can get an accurate diagnosis with an office procedure that is less invasive, less traumatic and easier on a woman's body.  It's also a way to avoid the operating room altogether if breast cancer is not discovered, which is about 80 percent of women."

In the procedure, a woman lies on a table while the doctor places the Mammotome probe through a small incision about the size of a match head.  Using ultrasound imaging the doctor can accurately pinpoint the suspicious tissue and gently vacuum, cut and remove this tissue for further examination.  Only a small adhesive bandage is required to cover the incision.  The procedure typically takes less than an hour and women can return to normal activity immediately following the biopsy.

More than 1.6 million breast biopsies are performed each year in the United States; however, about 80 percent of the biopsies performed turn out to be benign.  According to the American Cancer Society, more than 203,500 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and nearly 40,000 will die from the disease.

In addition, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine on June 24, 2002, concluded that the leading cause of breast cancer is wrongly assuring women with breast lumps that they were benign without performing a biopsy.

"Mammograms are not enough to make a definitive diagnosis," Lynch states.  "And now with the advent of minimally invasive breast biopsies, there should be no reason for women with an abnormality on physical examination or mammography to avoid a biopsy that can help them detect breast cancer at its earliest stages, when it's most curable."

The Mammotome System is the first system cleared by the FDA for management of fibroadenomas (palpable non-cancerous breast lumps), a condition common among young women in their late teens, twenties, and thirties.  A fibroadenoma is typically a solid, round, benign tumor that has the feel of a marble inside a woman's breast.  Many women have it removed with open surgery or reject surgery in order to avoid potential scarring associated with the traditional operation.  "Management of fibroadenomas has become easier and can now be performed in the office," Lynch says, "the cosmetic results are excellent and with this new procedure, women won't have to go into an operating room to manage the problem."

As with any breast biopsy procedure, procedures with the Mammotome may present risks.  Patients should consult with their doctors to see which type of breast biopsy procedure is appropriate for them.  For more information, ask your physician to refer you to Dr. Lynch or call (608) 745-5186.

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