NEW MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY AT MERCY
Downtown Hospital Offers Cryoablation Therapy For Benign Breast Disease
Dr. Neil B. Friedman, Director of The Hoffberger Breast Center at Mercy, has announced the use of a new medical technology to treat benign breast disease.
The Breast Center is now offering cryoablation – the treatment of fibroadenomas, the most common form of benign breast tumor, with extreme cold – as a treatment option for women with benign breast tumors.
The procedure, known as the Visica Treatment System developed by Sanarus Medical, Inc., uses cryoablation technology to destroy targeted tissue by freezing. The Visica System is the only minimally invasive ablation device cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of fibroadenomas. “This procedure allows the patient to have her benign breast tumor treated without an invasive, inpatient surgical procedure. This means no general anesthesia, the patient remains conscious throughout the procedure. There are no stitches, and only minimal post-operative pain,” Dr. Friedman said. Guided by ultrasound, cryoablation involves placing a small needle, about the width of a matchstick, into the tumor’s center. The surgeon then applies extreme cold, freezing and destroying the tumor. Over the subsequent 3-12 months, the tumor progressively shrinks and disappears and the body absorbs the tissue. The entire procedure takes no more than 20 to 30 minutes, requires only local anesthesia and is done in the breast surgeon’s office, rather than in the operating room. “It’s estimated that half of all women in this country will seek a physician’s care for a breast disorder at some point in their lives. About 80 percent of these women will be diagnosed with benign breast disease, the most common being fibroadenoma. These benign tumors can grow as big as a golf ball, and cause pain, anxiety and disfigurement,” Dr. Friedman said. Open, excisional surgery to remove these tumors will typically involve an inhospital procedure and several days of recovery. Most fibroadenomas are surgically removed. “Clinical research has shown that cryoablation is an effective alternative to invasive surgery for the removal of these benign tumors. We’ve just begun using cryoablation at Mercy and are seeing positive results. Cryoablation as a treatment for breast cancer has promise, but significantly more clinical research needs to be done. However, it is an exciting new form of therapy for women with benign disease,” Dr. Friedman said. Sanarus Medical, Inc., headquartered in Pleasanton, Calif., is dedicated to providing truly minimally invasive solutions for the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of breast disease. For more information, visit www.sanarus.comFacts about Breast Cancer
According to a report from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), about one in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. This year, an estimated 192,200 women will learn they have invasive breast cancer and 40,200 women will die from the disease. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for women (after lung cancer) and the leading overall cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and 55.
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