Multidisciplinary radio-guided surgery team: Alternative to change the current paradigm

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Surgical Oncology
• Nuclear Medicine

Background:

• Increasing healthcare demand for radio-guided surgery (RGS) necessitated adapting the RGS team structure.
• New professional roles, specifically Diagnostic Imaging Technician (DIT) and Sentinel Node Referent Nurse (SNRN), were introduced to optimize physician time allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the integration process of DIT and SNRN roles within the RGS team.
• To assess the deployment and impact of these new roles in RGS procedures.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of RGS activity from 2018-2022.
• Focus on breast cancer (BC) and malignant melanoma (MM) procedures, where competency transfer was concentrated.
• Examination of the chronological evolution of responsibilities within the integrated RGS team.

Main Results:

• RGS activity surged by 109% during the study period, with BC and MM being the primary drivers.
• Successful progressive transfer of competencies: SNRNs administered 74% of RGS procedures, and DITs performed 64% of surgeries by 2022.
• The integration demonstrated effective management of increased RGS procedural volume.

Conclusions:

• Establishing a multidisciplinary RGS team, including nuclear medicine physicians, ERGC, and TSID, is a successful strategy.
• This approach enhances the capacity to address the growing complexity and volume of RGS procedures.
• The redefined roles of DIT and SNRN are integral to managing the expanding RGS workload.