Case Report on Vacuum Assisted Biopsy (VAB) procedure by Dr Mentallah Tawfik, Specialist, Breast Radiology, Al Zahra Hospital Sharjah
The first Vacuum Assisted Biopsy (VAB) procedure with ultrasound guidance and under local anaesthesia without scar was done successfully at the Breast Care Unit of Al Zahra Hospital Sharjah. The VAB is an advanced biopsy system in which multiple tissue cores of breast are removed for histopathology by using vacuum and high speed rotator sharp cutter.
Case report: Patient medical profile
56 years old female patient with a past history of liver transplantation. A non-surgical candidate as general anesthesia would compromise her health condition. The procedure itself lasted 20 minutes which included pre-procedure, Ultrasound and localization, local anesthesia, less than 3 mm skin opening , introducing of the needle and total suction removal of the whole lesion and the nearest mammary ducts to avoid recurrence.
The after care and compression took 5 minutes and the patient total stay at the hospital was 1 hour. The patient went home driving.
Indications for VAB:
- Became standard procedure for micro-calcifications biopsy
- Advanced tru-cut biopsy with high success rate for suspicious lesions
- Total suction removal for benign lesions
Advantages of VAB:
- It is minimally invasive done through a very small skin incision with no need of sutures and no scar
- Under local anesthesia
- Outpatient clinic procedure patient presume her regular life in one hour maximum, no need for admission
- Safe with minimal complications
- Infection control (disposable needles and tubes)
- Minimal after care (at home, no admission)
- Suitable for non-surgical candidates patients