Stereotactic Biopsy of the Breast Using an Upright Unit, a Vacuum-Suction Needle, and a Lateral Arm-Support System

Abstract

Vacuum-suction needle core biopsies can be successfully performed on an upright stereotactic machine with a lateral arm attachment. Thinly compressed breasts and lesions located near the chest wall are well sampled. The vasovagal rate is higher than that on a prone table but is acceptable.

Stereotactic directional vacuum-assisted breast biopsy using lateral approach

“…In some patients, breast thickness was thin, with a minimum of 10 mm (7 cases). Some authors [7,10] have reported that one advantage of the lateral approach is that tissue can be sampled from very thin breasts. However, they [7,10] have also stated that compression of 1.3 cm or less requires placement of a Plexiglas block between the breast and the image receptor because otherwise the needle would not be able to be lowered in the z-axis without the casing hitting the image receptor.…”

“…Some authors [7,10] have reported that one advantage of the lateral approach is that tissue can be sampled from very thin breasts. However, they [7,10] have also stated that compression of 1.3 cm or less requires placement of a Plexiglas block between the breast and the image receptor because otherwise the needle would not be able to be lowered in the z-axis without the casing hitting the image receptor. In our cases where breast thickness was too thin, we were able to place a probe in the breast but not too deeply because the dial part knocks up against the plate (Fig.…”

“…Another advantage of the lateral approach is that the skin incision site is not superimposed on the target and the administration of lidocaine for the skin incision does not obscure the target, as occurs in the z-axis approach, resulting in obscuration [7,10]. Furthermore, another benefit of the upright unit with the lateral arm is that it allows access to lesions near the chest wall and lateral areas of the breast [7,10].…”

“…Furthermore, another benefit of the upright unit with the lateral arm is that it allows access to lesions near the chest wall and lateral areas of the breast [7,10].…”

“…However, there are few reports [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] regarding the lateral approach. We performed ST-MMT using the lateral approach and report here an advantage of this approach.…”