Applicability of Radioguided Occult Lesion Localization in Non-Palpable Benign Breast Lesions

Mammography screening programs are frequently used for the detection of non-palpable clinically occult breast lesions and the widespread use of high-resolution ultrasound has increased the number of detected masses. Although most of the detected masses are benign and do not require surgery, sometimes surgery is needed because of discordance between results of pathologic and radiologic examinations, patient anxiety, positive family history, and patient desire despite benign pathology results. Successful management of these non-palpable non-malignant lesions requires complete surgical excision with optimal cosmetic outcome and minimal morbidity, for which accurate localization of the lesion is essential. Ultrasound is the most commonly used imaging modality for localization, provided the lesions are visible on ultrasound examination. Mammography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are other methods of