The Impact of an Electromagnetic Seed Localization Device Versus Wire Localization on Breast-Conserving Surgery: A...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Innovation
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Wire localization (WL) is a standard technique for guiding breast-conserving surgery (BCS).
• Electromagnetic seed localization (ESL) is an emerging alternative offering 3D navigation.
• This study compares ESL and WL in BCS outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare operative times between ESL and WL.
• To assess specimen volumes and excess tissue excised using ESL versus WL.
• To evaluate margin positivity and re-excision rates for both localization methods.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective review of patients undergoing ESL-guided BCS (August 2020-August 2021).
• One-to-one matching of ESL patients with WL patients based on surgeon, procedure, and pathology.
• Statistical comparison using Wilcoxon rank-sum and Fisher's exact tests.

Main Results:

• Median specimen volume was significantly lower with ESL (36 cm³ vs. 55 cm³, p=0.001).
• Excess tissue excised was greater with WL (median 73.2 cm³ vs. 52.5 cm³, p=0.017).
• ESL showed a trend towards fewer positive margins (10% vs. 19%) and re-excisions (6% vs. 13%), though not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• ESL demonstrates superiority over WL due to reduced specimen volume and excised tissue.
• ESL may lead to improved margin status and fewer re-operations.
• Further research is warranted to establish ESL as the preferred method.