Western Connecticut Health Network First in State to Offer Seed Localization & Wilton Teacher is Patient

How can breast surgeons remove an abnormal spot in a woman’s breast that they are not able to feel?  This is a challenge breast surgeons often face.

Danbury Hospital is the first healthcare provider in the State of Connecticut to offer a new technology to accurately locate these spots that cannot be felt:  radioactive seed localization (RSL).  A tiny radioactive pellet - a ‘seed’ – is placed into the breast by a radiologist a few days or even up to a couple of weeks before the surgery.  A bit larger than a grain of rice, the seed contains a very safe, tiny dose of radioactivity.  It can localize the spot more precisely than a wire and does not protrude from the skin or cause discomfort.  In fact, most women say they don’t feel the seed when it’s in place.

On the day of surgery, a small, hand-held probe that detects radioactivity leads the surgeon directly to seed placed at the affected spot.  This helps ensure the incision is made precisely at the area that needs to be removed.  After the removal, the tissue is X-rayed to determine the right spot was located, and the X-ray and the probe confirm that the seed has been removed. Once the seed is out, no radioactivity remains in the breast.

RSL can be used to target spots for biopsy or to localize cancers for lumpectomy. Use of the “seed” improves the patient’s experience and may allow the breast surgeon to perform more precise, surgery. 

Wilton pre-school teacher Joanne “Gigi” Adams, age 54, is one patient who had the RSL procedure.  During her routine mammogram, a small lump was detected and then determined by a biopsy to be malignant.  Adams was referred to fellowship-trained, dedicated breast surgeon Dr. Valerie Staradub.   “I was frightened about the diagnosis, and also about the traditional localization process, because some of the women I knew said it could be painful and uncomfortable,” said Adams.  So when Dr. Staradub offered Adams RSL as an option, she was relieved.  The implantation of the radioactive seed took 15 minutes under local anesthesia, and was virtually painless. The next day, Dr. Staradub used the RSL to perform the successful breast surgery.

Adams is currently undergoing chemotherapy under the care of medical oncologist Dr. Jennifer Zikria at The Praxair Cancer Center at Danbury Hospital.

For information about breast care and breast surgery options at Western Connecticut Health Network, visit About the Praxair Cancer Center