Intraoperative digital radiography for diagnosis of non-palpable breast lesions

Purpose: A procedure for performing intraoperative digital radiography of d iagnostic breast specimens directly in the operating suite with teleradiolo gic assessment by a radiologist is presented. The efficiency of this proced ure is compared with that of conventional magnification mammography perform ed in the radiology department. Material and Methods: Thirty-six specimen r adiographs obtained by conventional magnification mammography were compared with 38 intraoperative digital magnification radiographs (DIMA Soft P42 pr ototype, Feinfocus Inc., Garbsen). The radiographs were assessed for lesion conspicuity and time savings for the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and radiol ogist. Results: The new procedure identified all 38 labeled pathological le sions, and the conventional technique likewise had a detection rate of 100% (36/36). The new technique resulted in considerable time savings for the s urgeon and the radiologist. The duration of surgery was shorter and the tim e interval from removal of the specimen to reporting of the results was red uced from about 23 min to about 13 min. A single radiograph was sufficient for complete visualization of the specimen in all cases. Conclusion: Digita l intraoperative specimen radiography considerably reduces the time of surg ery depending on the local conditions and is highly accurate in locating a suspicious area within the tissue.