Outpatient needle localization and biopsy for nonpalpable breast lesions

We reviewed 101 consecutive biopsy specimens of nonpalpable breast lesions obtained by needle localization. Forty-six biopsies were done on outpatients under local anesthesia and 16 more on inpatients under local anesthesia. The remaining 39 biopsies were performed on inpatients under general anesthesia. The complications and accuracy of the outpatient procedure were acceptable and comparable to those of the inpatient procedure. In our institution, there is almost a fivefold cost increase for the performance of this procedure under general anesthesia as an inpatient. We recommend that surgeons and radiologists work together to perfect preoperative localization techniques, and we strongly support the concept that this procedure should be performed on outpatients under local anesthesia for the majority of patients with nonpalpable mammographic abnormalities.