Twin Cities Community Hospital implements new and improved breast cancer removal procedure
TEMPLETON, Calif. - Tenet Health Central Coast announced that a new breast cancer procedure is being implemented at Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton. This procedure aims to bring about better health and cosmetic outcomes for patients.
The new procedure, called SCOUT, is the first of its kind to be used in San Luis Obispo County and began being implemented a month ago. Four patients at Twin Cities hospital have received the procedure so far.
SCOUT uses non-radioactive, radar technology to provide surgical guidance during breast surgery in order to precisely locate tumors with minimal patient discomfort.
Tenet Health said that, rather than placing a wire immediately before surgery, a reflector is placed in the target tissue prior to the day of surgery at the patient’s convenience. During surgery, the SCOUT guide uses instantaneous distance measurement guidance to accurately detect the location of the reflector – and the tumor – to within 1mm of accuracy.
This procedure allows surgeons to strategically plan their incisions, therefore allowing for better cosmetic outcomes for the patient as well.
SCOUT is also used to effectively localize lymph nodes prior to neoadjuvant therapy and can be used with any type of imaging over the course of a patient’s care.
The new technology is part of Tenet Health Central Coast’s coordinated care in striving to provide the highest standard of breast cancer diagnostics and treatment.
One example includes Tenet Health's 3D mammography, or breast tomosynthesis, service offered for breast cancer screening in their Selma Carlson Diagnostic Center. Tenet Health said breast cancer screening with tomosynthesis, in combination with a conventional 2D mammography, has a 40 percent higher detection rate for invasive cancer than conventional 2D mammography alone.
Although one in eight women nationally will develop breast cancer sometime in her lifetime, if detected early, the five-year survival rate is 98 percent. Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among women, exceeded only by lung cancer.
