The introduction of saline while taking tissue of out the body is common practice and does not have a negative affect on the quality of the specimen sent for pathological evaluation. In fact, utilizing saline during tissue removal can have a positive effect.

In breast biopsy, saline lavage helps to remove small pieces of residual fatty tissue that may appear later as fat necrosis on a mammogram, reduces the likelihood of hematoma formation, and enhances the visibility of the site on post-biopsy images, ensuring clinical confidence.

The Suros ATEC® breast biopsy tissue excision system from Hologic is designed with a proprietary fluid management system that uses saline to enhance tissue acquisition and minimize the creation of hematomas. The saline lavage also aids in the removal of gadolinium, during MRI guided breast biopsies, further improving visualization of the post-biopsy site. To learn more about the ATEC, click here

Although not an approved use, some researchers and scientists tell us that it is conceivable that CAD will one day be used for a first read in breast imaging. Martin Yaffe at RSNA 2005 presented a paper on the performance of R2 CAD for pre-screening with digital mammography. He concluded that reading only the studies or views with CAD marks could have reduced radiologists' workload between 14% and 39% with only 1 out of 71 cancers missed. All 10 radiologists missed this cancer. (Yaffe, Martin. Performance of CAD for Pre-Screening with digital mammography." SSQ01-01, Thursday Dec. 1, 2005, Arie Crown Theatre)