• G Ramsey-Stewart and C S Lauer.
• Royal Prince Alfred Medical Centre, Newton, NSW.
• Med. J. Aust. 1992 Feb 17; 156 (4): 244-6.

ObjectiveTo describe a method for accurate excision and exact histopathological diagnosis of impalpable breast lesions, considered suspicious of carcinoma, and detected on mammographic examination alone.Setting, Patients And InterventionsEight-five patients referred with a suspicious but impalpable mammographic lesion underwent preoperative radiological localisation followed by surgical excision biopsy. Specimen radiology with a radiolucent acrylic compression-grid specimen-evaluation device confirmed that the lesion had been excised. By use of the grid coordinates, exact histopathological examination of the radiological area of suspicion was carried out to provide a definitive pathological diagnosis.ResultsTwenty-eight patients (33%) were found to have invasive carcinoma or extensive intraduct breast carcinoma requiring further surgical and adjuvant management. Nineteen of these patients (68%) had no axillary node metastases.ConclusionThe use of an acrylic compression-grid specimen-evaluation device in the diagnosis of suspicious mammographic breast lesions facilitates confirmation of excision by specimen radiology, and expedites accurate histological examination of suspicious radiological lesions.

14 keywords...

hide…