Intra-operative nuclear medicine in surgical practice

The use of radionuclides for the intra-operative localization of tumours has increased steadily over the past 15 years. We reviewed more than 15 years experience of a peripatetic service using a sterilizable probe system in operating theatres throughout the UK for localizing bone and soft tissue lesions. The technique requires the positive concentration of an appropriate radiopharmaceutical, together with a suitably designed detector system which can be sterilized for use during surgery. All surgical procedures were undertaken following initial positive imaging studies. A well-collimated nuclear probe with a 5 mm diameter CdTe detector was sterilized with ethylene oxide gas and coupled to a digital counter and ratemeter for use in the operating theatre. A total of 68 surgical procedures have been undertaken at 35 hospitals. Fifty-eight patients underwent excision of osteoid osteoma subsequently proven by histology. The other lesions successfully resected included osteoblastoma, hamartoma, Brodie's abscess, chronic bone infection, ectopic parathyroid adenoma and metastatic neuroblastoma. The technique can now be regarded as the method of choice for the surgical localization of osteoid osteoma. The successful detection of lesions at surgery can be assured providing that clear localization of the radiopharmaceutical occurs on the pre-operative images. The intra-operative use of conventional and new tumour-specific radiopharmaceuticals is reviewed and we confirm an increasing role for the surgical-probe-guided localization of primary and metastatic tumours.