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♦ FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2003
Perry Hospital oHers new breast biopsy with a bandaid
By Charlotte Perkins
HHJ Lifestyle Editor
PERRY - “You have a lump in
your breast. We need to do a
biopsy.”
For women, there are few
words that are more chilling.
Chances are good (85 percent
in fact) that the lump, whether
a lesion or a cyst, will turn out
to be benign, but it’s still a trau
matic time, and the open surgi
cal biopsy, done for diagnostic
purposes, can often be an ordeal
in itself or leave a disfiguring
scar.
Still, making the right diagno
sis as soon as possible is crucial,
and the good news at Perry
Hospital is that there’s now a
far less invasive procedure that
is easier on the body, easier on
the nerves and still diagnosti
cally reliable - providing
enough tissue for an accurate
pathology report, and frequent
ly resulting in a complete
removal of the suspicious tissue.
The procedure, done with
new state-of the-art equipment
called the Mammotome Breast
Biopsy System is now being
offered on an outpatient basis
Lisa Behling, RT, RM, Radiology Manager, and Cheryl Brown,
RT, RDMS, show off the Perry Hospital’s new Mammotome
Breast Biopsy System, which makes it possible for women with
suspicious lumps in their breasts to have a minimally invasive
biopsy procedure.
The Facts on PVD: Peripheral Vascular Disease
Free Screening - Tuesday
Persons suffering from leg pain can take advantage of a free
screening sponsored by Houston Healthcare for Peripheral
Vascular Disease (PVD), a common but serious circulation prob
lem in which the arteries carrying blood to the legs or arms
become narrowed or clogged.
The free screenings will be held Tuesday, July 29 from 10 am
until 2 pm at the Health Connections Cardiac Rehab Center in
the Houston Mall in Warner Robins.
During the screening, participants will be asked to complete a
questionnaire to help determine their risk for PVD. A brief
exam will involve taking the blood pressure of the participant’s
arm and ankle to further assess the potential of PVD. Nurses,
radiology technologists and physicians will be on hand to con
duct the screenings and answer questions. Participants who
appear to be at moderate or high risk for PVD will be advised to
see their physician for additional evaluation.
According to Dr. Charles H. Mann, a general and vascular sur
geon on the medical staff at Perry Hospital, PVD is most com
mon among men and women over the age of 50, people with dia
betes, people who smoke and people with high blood pressure or
high cholesterol levels.
Painful cramping in the legs or hips, especially when walking,
is the most common symptom of PVD. Referred to as “claudica
tion,” this symptom occurs because the blood flow to leg muscles
during exercise, which require more oxygen and nutrients, is
inadequate. When the activity stops, the pain usually goes away
after the muscles are able to rest. Other patients may experi
ence leg pain even when their muscles are resting, a form of PVD
that is especially serious, according to Dr. Charles Mann, a gen
eral/ vascular surgeon on the medical staff at Perry Hospital.
Men are slightly more likely than women to have PVD. Those
at highest risk are individuals who are over the age of 50 years
and have a history of smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure or
high cholesterol, strokes, or heart disease or who have a family
history of vascular disease. People who live a sedentary lifestyle
or are overweight are also at risk as they get older.
Early diagnosis followed by intervention and therapy is essen
tial. In many cases the disease can be arrested by reducing the
risk factors through lifestyle changes (smoking cessation, adjust
ing diet, and exercise) along with medication to control other
risks. Patients with more advanced disease with significant
symptoms (severe pain affecting lifestyle or employment, or
patients with pain at rest) may require surgery to treat these
blockages in the arteries.
According to Dr. Mann, patients are treated in a multidiscipli
nary fashion, meaning that an individualized treatment plan for
each patient is based on their unique medical condition and the
input of many specialists. Today there are more advanced gen
erations of drugs, such as clot-dissolving medications, and
instruments that offer even better outcomes or choices in the
treatment of patients with PVD. These new therapies allow for
treatment of disease that is more severe with less invasive
means than in the past.
There is no charge for the screening, but an appointment is
required by calling 923-9771.
by Dr. Charles H. Mann 111, a
general and vascular surgeon
who had done hundreds of
Mammotome procedures before
moving here last year.
“This allows women to under
go an outpatient procedure that
is less invasive, less traumatic
and easier on the body, and still
get an accurate diagnosis,” Dr.
Mann said. “Whenever possible,
a minimally invasive breast
biopsy should be performed
rather than an open surgical
biopsy.”
An article published in the
Journal of the American College
of Surgeons recently made the
same recommendation, stating
that “if a mammogram indi
cates a breast biopsy is needed,
a minimally invasive breast
biopsy should be performed
wherever possible.”
What do the doctors mean by
“minimally invasive?”
Simply that the procedure
involves less cutting and less
damage to the breast.
With the use of the
Mammotome, which creates
images by ultrasound to guide
the surgeon to the precise area
HERE’S TO YOUR HEALTH
where the lump or lesion is. The
woman has a general anesthet
ic, and the incision made will be
about the size of a match head.
The surgeon then pinpoints the
area exactly for cutting, and
removing only the suspicious
tissue for biopsy. The procedure
typically takes less than a hour,
and the patient can return to
normal activity immediately.
Cora McGhee of Bonaire can
attest to this, because she actu
ally “went shopping and did
some visiting” right after her
recent Mammotome biopsy, and
was very pleased with the sim
plicity of the procedure. In fact,
she even watched most of it,
and felt no pain at all.
Once lab studies of the tissue
were done, McGhee who went
shopping right after the proce
dure was also relieved to know
that there as no malignancy,
and that no further procedures
were necessary, since Dr. Mann
had been able to remove all of
the tissue in question. Further,
for later exams, a tiny, sterile
metal marker was left pema
nently at the site to identify it
in future mammograms.
“I would recommend it to all
women,” she said. “It was pain
less.”
Dr. Horatio V Cabasares, who
is a Fellow of the American
Society of Breast Surgeons and
chief of the medical staff at
Perry Hospital, said that he has
been pushing to get the new
equipment for several years and
is very pleased that the hospital
can now offer this simpler pro
cedure for women.
“It will be for the woman’s
doctor to decide whether or not
the Mammotome is the right
procedure,” he cautions, “but in
many cases it will be, and we
want to do this for the patient’s
benefit. We want Perry hospital
to be able to offer the highest
standards in care for women. It
can also be more cost effective,
with less time lost from work.”
Perry Hospital has the only
Mammotome system in the
Houston Healthcare System.
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HHJ Charlotte Perkins
Cora McGhee of Bonaire, right, was the first local patient to have a Mammotome biopsy, and
says, “I would recommend it to all women patints. I thought it was neat and painless.” McGhee
went shopping and ran errands right after the procedure, which was done by surgeon, Dr.
Charles Mann, center. The two are shown here with Perry Hospital Chief of Staff Horatio V.
Cabasares, who has been a driving force behind providing state-of-the-art care for women
patients.
iJfrCare
KiAy A Service of
s' / * Houston Healthcare
C's'/ oin Houston Healthcare for Senior Care,
a program tailored just for senior adults.
Senior Care offers free weekly strength and
flexibility exercise classes led by certified
instructors as well as monthly health screenings
such as blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose
checks. Classes and screenings are offered in
Perry and Warner Robins. For more information,
call us today at 923-9771.
Perry Senior Care
Wednesdays 9:30 am
& Fridays 10 am
Lunch and Speaker on Fridays
($5 for lunch)
Rozar Park Recreation Department
Warner Robins Senior Care
Tuesdays 1 pm & Thursdays 9 am
Houston County YMCA
(next to DJs Galaxy> Quest on Russell Parkway)
Houston Healthcare
Houston Medical Cent or • Perry Hospital
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