Open biopsy is a surgical procedure, where a cut is made through the skin to expose and remove tissues. It is indicated only when the breast lesion has been studied using mammography or ultrasound, and the lesion has been diagnosed. It is important to note that open biopsy has been made obsolete for diagnosis.
Biopsy (to identify the tumour or illness, when an abnormality is found on imaging) requires inserting a needle inside a lesion on the breast, to remove tissue or cells for examination and analysis. The diagnosis of such suspicious lesions makes it easier to decide the future procedure. As this process only involves a needle, it is painless, scarless, does not change the aesthetics of the breast, and since it is a short OPD procedure, it doesn’t require going to a hospital. This increases the comfort and ease of the person towards this procedure, and the results can be obtained in just two days.
Depending on the lump, the further procedure is decided:
- If the lump is benign (not harmful), no further procedure is required.
- If the benign lump is more than 3 cm, a simple needle excision may be required.
- If the lump is cancerous (malignant), further treatment is planned.
By international standards, minimally invasive biopsy is the most advisable.
Here, at Samarpan, we provide four types of biopsies:
- FNAC: It is the simplest method of diagnosing breast cancer but a high inaccuracy makes it unreliable and thus is not recommended. This technique involves insertion of a needle, under local anaesthesia, in the breast lesion to determine its identity (benign or cancerous).
- TRUCUT BIOPSY: Trucut biopsy is the gold standard of diagnosing breast cancer. Trucut biopsy provides several advantages over FNAC, as it has 98% accuracy in detecting breast cancer (benign, pre-malignant and malignant cases), is painless, scarless, and takes 15 mins in the OPD. This type of biopsy uses a thicker needle for removing tiny bits of lesions, which are then identified and can even be saved as further test, if diagnosed as cancerous.
- VACUUM ASSISTED BIOPSY (VAB): The VAB device is a state-of-the-art instrument at Samarpan, which provides 99% accuracy in diagnosing even the smallest of lesions (0.2 mm- 0.3 mm size), or even accumulation of (calcifications) calcium salts in the breast, indicating early cancer. It is done within 15 minutes in a day care or an OPD setup, relieving the person from the hassle of going to a hospital. Since it does not involve any surgery, this procedure is virtually painless, scarless, stitchless, and does not distort or damage the aesthetics of the breast either.
- ROBOTIC STEREOTACTIC BIOPSY: There are certain early indicators of cancer such as micro-calcifications, which cannot be diagnosed by physical examination or ultrasound, or even by biopsies using mammogram or sonomammogram. Robotic stereotactic biopsy is the preferred in such cases. This biopsy entails a stereotactic robotic arm which guides the needle in the right place with a 100% precision, thus providing a huge advantage over other biopsies, to diagnose even the smallest of breast lesions accurately, painlessly and scarlessly.