[Ultrasonically guided breast-conserving surgery for palpable mammary tumours]

Breast-conserving surgery for palpable mammary tumours is usually guided by palpation. It appears, however, that identifying tumour margins only by palpation can be problematic, resulting in less than optimal effectiveness of this type of operation. The use of ultrasonography is a simple and non-invasive way of facilitating real-time localisation of breast carcinoma during surgery so that a tumour can be excised with controlled precision. Ultrasound is used to localise the tumour prior to surgery; its location is subsequently marked on the skin. During tissue dissection, ultrasound can be used to inspect the location and depth of the tumour as well as determining whether the tumour's surrounding margins are sufficient, thereby preventing the unnecessary removal of healthy tissue. Ultrasound can be used again after the excision to verify that the tumour was indeed radically removed. The efficacy of ultrasonically guided surgery for palpable mammary tumours is currently being studied in a prospective, randomised, multicentre trial.