Education

AdventHealth System one of the largest and most prominent healthcare systems in Florida, recently purchased their fourth XPERT 80® Specimen Radiography System from KUBTEC. This unit has already been installed in the pathology lab at AdventHealth Altamonte Springs.

To obtain the so-called three-dimensional view (3-D), routine use of two orthogonal images have been utilized as a 3-D view. Yet in screening mammography, true 3-D mammography has now arrived as tomosynthesis, not simply two orthogonal MLO and CC views of the breast.

Image guided localization is a valuable tool commonly utilized during partial mastectomy (PM) to ensure accurate removal of early-stage breast cancer. Many techniques and imaging modalities exist to confirm completeness of the initial procedure including: six (6) quadrant shaves, selective shaves, pathologic gross evaluation and margin probe use. Still, approximately 1 out of 5 patients require a second procedure in order to obtain a negative surgical margin.

Re-excision rates using both modalities are low. A lower re-excision rate is independently associated with 3D tomosynthesis. This allows surgeons to excise additional margins at the index operation, decreasing reoperations and anxiety/costs for patients.

Breast specimen radiography helps identify lesions in tissue that is collected during breast conserving surgery (BCS, also known as lumpectomy). The goal of the surgery is to remove all of the cancer while at the same time preserving as much healthy tissue as possible. To ensure that no tumor cells have been left behind, the surgical specimen needs to be X-rayed.

To ensure all cancer is removed during a surgery, the standard procedure is for the surgeon to include a border of tissue surrounding and beyond the edges of the visible cancerous tumor. This border of tissue is called the surgical margin or margin of resection, and it needs to be examined microscopically by a pathologist to determine if cancer cells are present.