TULSA, Okla. — Breast cancer surgery can be painful and invasive, but with new technology at Hillcrest Medical Center, patients are feeling better about removing the disease.
To remove breast cancer, surgeons previously used wired localization.
"They would insert a wire into the breast, usually about 10 -12 inches long," Dr. Clint Merritt, a breast surgical oncologist at Hillcrest, explained. "That wire would then exit through the skin and be left in place until the surgeon takes it out several hours later. So it was a very emotionally traumatic experience for a patient to see a wire exiting their breast."
Now, that is a thing of the past.
This new technology, known as Molli 2, is wire-free and less invasive.
Dr. Merritt is the first and, right now, the only doctor in Oklahoma using it.
"New technology, in general, usually goes to major academic medical centers first. I think we are very fortunate to be a community-based medical center that has the newest technology on the market," he said.
So how does it work?
A three-millimeter gold-plated marker is inserted into the cancer area using a needle.
Then, in surgery, that marker transmits a signal to an iPad-like device, which helps Dr. Merritt locate the cancerous tissue.
"It allows me as a surgeon to pinpoint down exactly the breast tissue that needs to come out," he said. "This is great because the accuracy of the one millimeter allows the breast surgeon to take out just the tissue that needs to come out but preserve as much healthy breast tissue as possible. This creates a better cosmetic outcome for the patient and allows us to be more accurate with our breast cancer surgery."
He's used this on a little more than 100 patients. One of them is Devra Edwards.
She compared the procedure to getting a biopsy or blood drawn.
"Just a small prick I didn't feel anything. I didn't feel when it was in me. Also, when the doctor did my surgery, he took it out," she explained.
Ultimately, this new technology is not only helping surgeons with accuracy, but it's making it more convenient, less invasive, and less painful for patients.
"It just made it a lot smoother, I think," Edwards said. "If I would've had to have wires out, it would've been a scary thing, and it would've been probably more uncomfortable, and it probably would've been a larger hole that would have been put inside me that you know, I would have a scar for."
Dr. Merritt said this isn't the only wire-free technology, but it's the newest and one he believes is leading to fewer repeat surgeries, and for patients like Edwards, that's giving her peace of mind to know they got cancer all in one procedure.
While this technology is helping with removing breast cancer, it's also important to detect it early so it can be removed.
That starts with getting mammograms.
Hillcrest breast surgeons recommend starting at 40 years old. If you have a high risk, start earlier.
Signs and symptoms of breast cancer can include pain in the breast, lumps, nipple discharge, skin changes that don't go away, or anything else concerning and not normal to you.
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