OPEN SURGICAL BIOPSY FOR NONPALPABLE MAMMOGRAPHIC ABNORMALITIES - STILL AN OPTION COMPARED WITH CORE NEEDLE-BIOPSY

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to present information about open surgical biopsy. It is hoped that this will be helpful when reviewing informati on about core needle biopsy STUDY DESIGN: Review of 461 open surgical biopsies for nonpalpable mammographic abnormalities was performed. All patients were managed by the Women's Health Center of Logansport. Cor e needle biopsy data came from the literature. RESULTS: Open surgical biopsy compared favorably to core needle biopsy with regard to accurac y, cost, patient convenience, recovery, adequacy of specimen, identifi cation of primary site, and cosmetics. CONCLUSION: Despite core needle biopsy marketing, open surgical biopsy has its advantages and should not be relegated to the museum.