Prevention of nausea and vomiting following breast surgery.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of nausea and vomiting in women following breast surgery (PONV) under general anesthesia (GA), before and after the introduction of a standardized prophylactic anti-emetic (AE) regimen. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of eligible patients, between July 2001 and March 2003. Patients operated on before September 2002 had standard preoperative care (old cohort [OC]); patients operated on after September 2002 were treated prophylactically with oral dronabinol 5 mg and rectal prochlorperazine 25 mg (new cohort [NC]). Data were collected from hospital records regarding age, diagnosis, comorbid conditions, previous anesthesia history, anesthesia and operative details, episodes PONV, and use of AE. The rate and severity of PONV was calculated for both cohorts. RESULTS: Two hundred forty-two patients were studied: 127 patients in the OC and 115 patients in the NC. The median age was 56 years (range 32 to 65). The rate of nausea and vomiting were significantly better in the patients treated prophylactically with dronabinol and prochlorperazine (59% vs. 15%, P < .0001 and 29% vs. 3%, P < .0001). Twenty patients in the OC were given some prophylactic AE treatment and 12 (60%) of them required further treatment; only 12 of 109 patients (11%) in the NC required further AE treatment (P < .0001). CONCLUSION: PONV is a significant problem in breast surgical patients. Preoperative treatment with dronabinol and prochlorperazine significantly reduced the number and severity of episodes of PONV.

Correlation of magnetic resonance imaging and pathologic size of infiltrating lobular carcinoma of the breast.

BACKGROUND: Determining the extent of infiltrating lobular carcinoma (ILCA) in the breast is difficult. This study was designed to determine if the size of ILCA on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) correlated with final pathology. METHODS: Retrospective study of patients between 1998 and 2004, who were evaluated for extent of ILCA prior to definitive treatment, was conducted. Demographic data and radiology and pathology results were obtained. Spearman correlation coefficient was used. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients (median age 62 years) had MRI of breast. Fourteen patients (48%) had contralateral MRIs; 13 (45%) normal; 1 (8%) prompted core biopsy; 6 of 13 patients underwent contralateral mastectomies, which were benign. The distribution of tumor size was: T1 = 15 (52%); T2 = 7 (24%); T3 = 5 (17%); T4 = 2 (7%). Spearman correlation coefficient between tumor size on ultrasound and MRI with pathology was .19 (P = .5) and .88 (P < .001), respectively. CONCLUSION: MRI provided superior correlation between tumor size and pathology.

Subareolar sentinel node biopsy for multiple breast cancers.

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is deemed suitable only for unifocal breast cancers since multiple foci of cancers may drain to different nodes. We hypothesized that subareolar injection (SI) could identify the sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) accurately in patients with multiple cancers (MC) in the breast. METHODS: We prospectively employed SI of lymphazurin or technetium sulfur colloid, or both, for the identification of SLN in patients with MC in the breast. All patients underwent axillary dissection to compute the accuracy of SLNB. RESULTS: Forty patients presented with MC in the same breast between January 1996 and July 2002. Fifty-two percent (21 of 40) of patients had involvement of more than 1 quadrant; 18% (7 of 40) had more than 1 histologic type of cancers. SLNs were successfully identified in 100% of patients. Axillary disease was present in 63% (25 of 40) of patients. Sensitivity of SLNB was 100% and false negative rate was 0%. The SLN was the only node involved in 45% (18 of 40) of patients. CONCLUSIONS: SLNB using the SI technique may be an alternative to complete axillary dissection in patients with multiple breast cancers.

Touch preparation of breast core needle specimens is a new method for same-day diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Touch preparation cytology (TPC) has proven to be a quick and accurate intraoperative diagnostic tool for excisional breast biopsy, margins and sentinel nodes. We hypothesized that TPC of core needle biopsy (CNB) specimens can provide a same-day diagnosis in the outpatient setting. METHODS: Outpatients presenting with breast lesions underwent TPC of biopsy cores performed by biopsy gun or vacuum-assisted CNB. The TPC results were compared with the final diagnosis of CNB specimens. RESULTS: In all, 199 CNB and TP were performed between August 1997 and October 2002. Twenty-nine percent of lesions were malignant. Touch preparation was deferred in 21% of cases. In the remaining 157 evaluable cases, TPC had an accuracy of 89% and a false negative rate of 26%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of TPC were 74%, 97%, 93%, and 86% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Touch preparation cytology on CNB can be performed simply in the outpatient setting. Collaboration between the surgeon and pathologist allows TP to be an accurate means of same-day pathological determination.

Botulinum toxin infiltration for pain control after mastectomy and expander reconstruction.

INTRODUCTION: We hypothesized botulinum toxin (BT) infiltration of the chest wall musculature after mastectomy would create a prolonged inhibition of muscle spasm and postoperative pain, facilitating tissue expander reconstruction. METHODS: An Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved prospective study was conducted of all patients undergoing mastectomy with tissue expander placement during a 2-year period. Study patients versus controls had 100 units of diluted BT injected into the pectoralis major, serratus anterior, and rectus abdominis insertion. Pain was scored using a visual analog scale of 0 to 10. Wilcoxon rank sum test was used for continuous variables and the chi2 test for nominal level data to test for significance. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients were entered into the study; 22 (46%) with and 26 (54%) without BT infiltration. Groups were comparable in terms of age (55 +/- 11 years versus 52 +/- 10 years; P = 0.46), bilateral procedure (59% versus 61%; P = 0.86), tumor size (2 +/- 2 cm versus 2 +/- 3 cm; P = 0.4), expander size and volume (429 +/- 119 mL versus 510 +/- 138 mL; P = 0.5). The BT group did significantly better with pain postoperatively (score of 3 +/- 1 versus 7 +/- 2; P < 0.0001), during initial (score of 2 +/- 2 versus 6 +/- 3; P = 1.6 x 10(-6)), and final expansion (1 +/- 1 versus 3 +/- 2; P = 0.009). Volume of expansion per session was greater thus expansion sessions required less in the BT group (5 +/- 1 versus 7 +/- 3; P = 0.025). There was a significant increase in narcotic use in control patients in the first 24 hours (17 +/- 10 mg versus 3 +/- 3 mg; P < 0.0001), initial as well as final expansion periods (P = 0.0123 and 0.0367, respectively). One expander in the BT group versus 5 in the control group required removal (P = 0.13). There were no BT-related complications. CONCLUSION: Muscular infiltration of botulinum toxin for mastectomy and tissue expander placement significantly reduced postoperative pain and discomfort without complications.

Intraoperative subareolar radioisotope injection for immediate sentinel lymph node biopsy.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the identification of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in breast cancer patients after intraoperative injection of unfiltered technetium-99m sulfur colloid (Tc-99) and blue dye. BACKGROUND: SLNB guided by a combination of radioisotope and blue dye injection yields the best identification rates in breast cancer patients. Radioisotope is given preoperatively, without local anesthesia, whereas blue dye is given intraoperatively. We hypothesized that, because of the rapid drainage noted with the subareolar injection technique of radioisotope, intraoperative injection would be feasible and less painful for SLN localization in breast cancer patients. METHODS: Intraoperative injection of Tc-99 and confirmation blue dye was performed using the subareolar technique for SLNB in patients with operable breast cancer. The time lapse between injection and axillary incision, the background count, the preincision and ex vivo counts of the hot nodes, and the axillary bed counts were documented. The identification rate was recorded. RESULTS: Ninety-six SLNB procedures were done in 88 patients with breast cancer employing intraoperative subareolar injection technique for both radioisotope (all 96 procedures) and blue dye (93 procedures) injections. Ninety-three (97%) procedures had successful identification; all SLNs were hot; 91 (of 93 procedures with blue dye) were blue and hot. The mean time from radioisotope injection to incision was 19.9 minutes (SD 8.5 minutes). The mean highest 10 second count was 88,544 (SD 55,954). Three of 96 (3%) patients with failure of localization had previous excisional biopsies: 1 circumareolar and 2 upper outer quadrant incisions that may have disrupted the lymphatic flow. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative subareolar injection of radioisotope rapidly drains to the SLNs and allows immediate staging of the axilla, avoiding the need to coordinate diagnostic services and a painful preoperative procedure.