Horizontal Rotary Cutting Technique for Skin Injury Avoidance in Superficial Benign Breast Masses

This study aims to investigate the feasibility of the horizontal rotary-cut technique in the removal of superficial benign breast tumors with a ≤1.0 cm distance between the upper margin of the tumor and the skin.

A total of 69 patients with superficial benign breast tumors received horizontal rotary-cut surgery between July 2018 and June 2019 (horizontal group). The rotary cutter groove was in the true lateral position of the tumor and the ultrasonic probe was vertical to the rotary cutter groove. The patients were compared with 33 patients who underwent the traditional vertical rotary-cut surgery between July 2017 and June 2018 (traditional group) regarding the aspects of operation time, intraoperative bleeding volume, postoperative skin ecchymosis, skin damage, and tumor residue. The rotary cutter groove was directly below the tumor and the ultrasonic probe was parallel to the rotary cutter groove in the traditional vertical rotary-cut surgery.

The operation time in the horizontal group was significantly shorter than in the traditional group (7.7 ± 1.1 minutes vs 9.5 ± 1.3 minutes, with t = -7.458 and p = 0.000) and there was significantly less skin damage in the horizontal group than in the traditional group (0 cases vs 3 cases, with p = 0.032). The differences in intraoperative bleeding and postoperative skin ecchymosis between the two groups were not statistically significant (6.0 ± 1.3 mL vs 6.5 ± 1.5 mL, with t = -1.853 and p = 0.067; 4 cases vs 2 cases, with χ ² = 0.003 and p = 0.958). Ninety-seven patients attended follow-ups for 6-30 (16.5 ± 4.5) months. No residues or recurrences were observed under ultrasound reviews in either group.

In superficial benign breast tumor removal, the horizontal rotary-cut breast technique can help avoid skin injury, shorten the operation time, and reduce tumor residue more effectively compared with the traditional vertical rotary-cut technique. It has certain popularization and application values.