St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital First in Tampa to Offer Targeted Localization for Breast Tumors with the SAVI SCOUT Surgical Guidance System
TAMPA, Fla. - On Jan. 20, 2016, Dr. Robert Gabordi II, a breast surgeon in the Shimberg Breast Center at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital, performed Tampa's first non-trial lumpectomy using the SAVI SCOUT® surgical guidance system. The device uses real-time audible and visual indicators to help surgeons locate and remove target tissue during lumpectomy and excisional biopsy procedures.
This new medical technology is an alternative to needle (guidewire) localization, which has been the standard method of locating a non-palpable lump for surgical removal for more than 20 years. With the SAVI SCOUT system, a small device called a reflector is inserted into the target tissue up to seven days before surgery. During the procedure, the surgeon uses a probe that emits non-radioactive, electromagnetic waves to locate and remove the target tissue and the reflector.
“The ability to precisely locate a tumor with this new technology can help to preserve healthy breast tissue, increase the rate of complete cancer removal and decrease the potential for follow-up surgeries,” said Dr. Gabordi. “And by eliminating the need for protruding guidewires, which can get caught on clothing or become dislodged before surgery, it’s a much more comfortable option for our patients.”
Sixty-five-year-old Jackie Rademaker was recently diagnosed with lobular carcinoma in situ (abnormal cell growth in the lobules or milk glands in the breast) and was Dr. Gabordi’s patient during the first procedure.
“When I met with Dr. Gabordi to discuss the lumpectomy, he reviewed the benefits of using the surgical guidance system and I immediately felt more at ease,” said Rademaker. “The surgery went well, and I was home the same day and back to work the following day.”
For more information on the benefits of the surgical guidance system and the Shimberg Breast Center at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital, please call (813) 635-3610.