Intraoperative Ultrasound: Improved Resection Rates in Breast-conserving Surgery

The objective of this study was the investigation of a possible improvement of tumor resection rate, i.e. R0 vs. R1 resection when intraoperative ultrasound evaluation of tissue margins is used during breast-conserving surgery (BCS). A total of 250 cases were evaluated retrospectively. The impact of ultrasound analysis onto clean margin rates was evaluated. A subgroup analysis assessed histology, stage, and neoadjuvant therapy with respect to R0 resection rate and ultrasound evaluation. Of 250 BCS cases 84, (33.6%) underwent intraoperative ultrasound and 166 (66.4%) did not. Clean primary surgical margins (R0) were demonstrated for 218 (87.2%) patients after histological analysis. R0 resection was achieved in 81 (96.4%) patients in the ultrasound group compared to 137 (82.5%) in the control group. The difference between the two groups is significant. This study revealed a significant increase in R0 resection rates when intraoperative ultrasound was used to evaluate surgical margins.