New Technology at AdventHealth Waterman Improves the Surgery Experience for Breast Cancer Patients

TAVARES, Fla., April 12, 2019 – Women with small breast cancer tumors have a new, more comfortable and convenient surgical option at AdventHealth Waterman. Using advanced technology – about the size of a grain of rice – AdventHealth Waterman physicians can precisely locate and remove cancerous tissue during a lumpectomy or surgical biopsy procedure.

Called the SCOUT® Wire-Free Radar Breast Localization System, AdventHealth Waterman is the only hospital in Lake County to offer this technology which helps overcome the challenges of wire localization and offers a better option for locating a breast tumor.

“As recently as the 1980s, the standard treatment for women diagnosed with breast cancer was a mastectomy, or removal of the whole breast, sometimes including lymph nodes. Thanks to technological advances in detection and new treatment approaches, many women now have the option to save their breasts by choosing breast-conserving surgery,” said Leslie Maxwell, director of the AdventHealth Waterman Cancer Institute. “However, all breast cancer surgery can be physically and emotionally distressing for women, and breast-conserving surgery has its own challenges.”

The traditional process for breast-conserving surgery requires marking small tumors – tumors so small they cannot be felt – for surgical removal with a wire. During this process, a hooked wire is inserted into the breast to mark the location of the tumor. Because the end of the wire sticks out from the breast, it is typically placed on the morning of surgery and patients must restrict their movement so that the wire is not accidentally moved or dislodged. During surgery – which can be several hours after the wire is placed – the surgeon follows the wire to find and remove the tumor.

“The old way of doing this procedure had several challenges,” said Dr. Borys Mascarenhas, oncology breast surgeon and breast program medical director for the AdventHealth Waterman Cancer Institute. “The wire had to be placed the same day as the lumpectomy procedure, which requires a high degree of coordination between radiology and surgical schedules, leading to delays in the operating room and requiring women to wait long periods of time with an uncomfortable wire protruding from their breast. In addition, wire-kinking or movement sometimes happens before surgery, reducing the accuracy of finding and removing all of the tumor and increasing the rate of local recurrence.”

The SCOUT system has completely revolutionized this problem.

“This new technology answers one of the most difficult aspects of breast-conserving surgery by eliminating the need to place a wire inside breast tissue to locate a tumor,” said Mascarenhas.

SCOUT works by placing a tiny device about the size of a grain of rice, called a reflector, into the tumor at the patient’s convenience before the day of surgery.

During lumpectomy surgery, the SCOUT system uses safe, non-radioactive radar waves to accurately detect the location of the reflector and the tumor to within 1mm of accuracy, allowing the surgeon to precisely locate and remove both the tumor and the reflector without the need for uncomfortable wires.

“Precisely locating tumors helps us remove the cancer while reducing the potential need for follow-up surgeries – a huge advantage for early-stage breast cancer patients,” said Mascarenhas. “In addition, the ability to strategically plan the incision with SCOUT may result in better cosmetic outcomes.”

The SCOUT system has been proven in over 60,000 procedures. It has been shown to decrease patient discomfort and improve patient satisfaction.

About AdventHealth Waterman
AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares has 269-beds and is one of the six hospitals in Flagler, Lake and Volusia counties that composes the AdventHealth Central Florida Division - North Region. Formerly known as Florida Hospital Waterman, the organization’s parent company changed the name of all wholly-owned entities to AdventHealth on Jan. 2, 2019. Based in Altamonte Springs, AdventHealth is a connected system of care. With more than 80,000 team members, AdventHealth is one of the nation’s largest faith-based health care systems with nearly 50 hospitals and hundreds of care sites in nearly a dozen states. AdventHealth Waterman is located in the heart of Lake County and was founded in 1938 by Frank Waterman. With the mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ, AdventHealth Waterman provides whole person care to heal the body, mind and spirit. For more information about AdventHealth Waterman, visit http://AdventHealthWaterman.com.

Photo Caption:
Dr. Borys Mascarenhas, oncology breast surgeon and breast program medical director for the AdventHealth Waterman Cancer Institute, shows the SCOUT® Wire-Free Radar Breast Localization System. The new technology is tiny – it is about the size of a grain of rice – but it has a big impact: it provides women with small breast cancer tumors a new, more comfortable and convenient surgical option. AdventHealth Waterman is the only hospital in Lake County with this technology to precisely locate and remove cancerous tissue during a lumpectomy or surgical biopsy procedure.