Breast Conserving Surgery
With breast conserving surgery at Brookings Health System, early-stage breast cancer patients have one less medical treatment far from home. Using the SAVI SCOUT surgical guidance system, the local surgery team removes only cancerous breast tissue. This breast sparing technique, also referred to as lumpectomy, offers the same survival rate as mastectomy.
Local Treatment for Breast Cancer
By offering breast conserving surgery, Brookings Health adds a part of the comfort and convenience of home to a woman's breast cancer journey. When a patient has surgery in Brookings, she and her support team benefit financially with less time and money spent on travel. Brookings Health's familiar, friendly faces on the surgical care team deliver compassionate and personalized care, treating the patient like family. The patient is also still connected with other cancer services, including cancer navigation, oncology and radiation.
Related Info
What is Breast Conservation?
Breast conserving surgery is often the medically recommended choice for those diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. The goal is to save the breast. Only the cancerous part of the breast is removed. By limiting the amount of healthy breast tissue removed, women maintain more normal-looking breasts with a better cosmetic result.
Survival rates for women who opted for breast conserving surgery are the same as the survival rate for mastectomy. Treating patients physically with a breast sparing technique also helps them emotionally. By saving the breast, a patient is better able to maintain her sense of self and identity.
What is SAVI SCOUT?
SAVI SCOUT is an FDA-approved radar localization technology that pinpoints tumors before surgery to treat breast cancer. A reflector, about the size of a grain of rice, is placed in the tumor by a radiologist up to 30 days before surgery. The reflector is passive until activated when safe, nonradioactive radar waves are used to detect it within the breast. By seeing exactly where the tumor is ahead of surgery, a surgeon can go straight to the abnormality and more precisely and effectively remove the entire tumor with smaller incisions. The technology also increases the likelihood of complete tumor removal.
What are the advantages of using SAVI SCOUT?
SAVI SCOUT decreases the amount of time a patient spends in the hospital. Traditionally the morning of surgery, a radiologist placed a wire in the tumor that would stick out of a women’s breast. The wire helped the surgeon locate the tumor, but it would cause discomfort and restrict movement, often for several hours. In some cases, the wire would move away from the tumor, making it difficult to remove all of the cancerous tissue, possibly requiring a second surgery. SAVI SCOUT’s reflector eliminates wire location, making the procedure less painful and allowing for a quicker recovery.
Watch & Learn
See how the SAVI SCOUT surgical guidance system helps Brookings Health System's surgical team perform breast conserving surgery for early-stage breast cancer patients.
System Providers:
Sara Marroquin, MD, MPH
Overall Rating
- General Surgery
- Robotic Surgery
- Breast Conserving Surgery
- Avera Medical Group Specialty Care
- Brookings Hospital