SAVISCOUT® makes lumpectomy procedures — breast conserving surgeries where only part of the breast is removed — easier for both patients and their surgeons by accurately pinpointing tumors before surgery to treat breast cancer.
Of the nearly 175,000 women who have breast-conserving surgery each year, about 30% require repeat surgery because some detectable cancer cells remain after the first procedure.
Traditionally, wire localization was the preferred preoperative technique for localizing breast tumors. This would mean a wire sticking out of your breast, often for several hours. It would require you to restrict your movements so that the wire remains in place between the time a radiologist inserts the wire the morning of surgery and when the lumpectomy occurs. Your surgeon would then follow the wire and remove your tumor. In some cases, wires can move away from your tumor, making it more difficult to remove all of the cancerous tissue.
Instead of wires, SAVI SCOUT® uses a reflector that is about the size of a grain of rice. It can be placed in your tumor up to 30 days before surgery. The reflector is not externally visible, and placement does not restrict your movements. The reflector is passive until activated, when safe, nonradioactive radar waves are used to detect it within your breast. The nonradioactive surgical guidance technology then guides your surgeon to the precise site of your tumor and can increase the likelihood of complete tumor removal.
SAVISCOUT® allows us to eliminate wire localization, which often causes discomfort and anxiety in patients. The SAVI SCOUT® reflector is so small that you won't even feel it.
In addition, we are able to plan the incision during surgery, which can limit tissue removal for better cosmetic results. Our goal is to save the breast, and with this technology, we can make smaller incisions, be a lot more precise and save more of the normal tissue. This also means a less painful and quicker recovery for you.
SAVISCOUT® is designed to help treat early-stage breast cancer patients who choose to have a lumpectomy or excisional biopsy — a diagnostic procedure in which the whole tumor is removed and tested — where the tumor is not able to be felt by hand.
When tumors are accurately located during the first surgery, any additional treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, can occur faster.
For more information, or to schedule an appointment, please call: (325) 219-6215
