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Updated: Jun 15, 2025
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A New Approach to Breast Specimen Orientation: Avoiding Pitfalls with the Specimen Plate Concept
András Drozgyik1,2, Tamás Szabó3, György Kovács4
1Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Petz Aladár University Teaching Hospital, 9024 Győr, Hungary.
Current Oncology (Toronto, Ont.)
|August 28, 2024
Summary
Accurate breast cancer specimen marking is vital to prevent surgical errors. A new tool aims to improve specimen orientation, reducing re-excision rates and enhancing patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Surgical Oncology
- Pathology
Background:
- Accurate specimen marking in breast cancer surgery is critical to prevent misorientation.
- Misorientation can lead to inadequate re-excision and tumor recurrence, impacting patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate current breast specimen marking practices in Hungary.
- To develop a novel tool to prevent specimen misorientation during breast cancer surgery.
Main Methods:
- An online questionnaire surveyed marking procedures at major Hungarian breast cancer centers.
- A troubleshooting method was employed to develop a new orientation tool.
Main Results:
- Only 60% of surveyed centers responded, with 9 using a standardized marking system.
- Less than half of surgical teams found specimen mammograms unambiguous, and over 70% of pathologists reported uncertainty regarding specimen orientation.
- Ambiguous marking methods and unclear directions caused orientation errors in all surveyed cases.
Conclusions:
- There is a significant lack of standardization in breast specimen orientation and marking in Hungary.
- A plastic specimen plate has been developed to anchor breast tissue, improving localization.
- An optimized orientation toolkit is needed to ensure consistent interpretation of specimen mammograms by surgeons and pathologists.
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