High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in the treatment of breast fibroadenomata: a feasibility study

Background/introduction Breast fibroadenomata (FAD) are the most common breast lesions in woman. For palpable lesions, three options are available: reassurance (with or without follow-up), vacuum assisted mammotome (VAM) or surgical excision. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a non-invasive ablative technique in which an ultrasound (US) beam propagates through tissue as a high-frequency pressure wave and is focused onto targeted tissue which elevates the temperature of the focused area without causing damage to the adjacent tissues. HIFU is normally applied to the whole lesion. In this trial, we performed circumferential HIFU treatment to isolate the fibroadenoma from its blood supply. Primary end points of this trial included the decrease in treatment time and shortterm complication rate.