Breast cancer patients will benefit from less invasive surgical procedures thanks to a new machine, called gamma probe, donated to Mater Dei Hospital by the Action for Breast Cancer Foundation.

The equipment, which cost the foundation some €10,000, is a hand-held device which helps determine the precise location and treatment of breast cancer.

Surgeons inject a small dose of a low-level radioactive tracer in the region of the patient’s tumour along with a blue dye which helps visually trace the location of the affected node.

The gamma probe detects the radioactivity of the tracer liquid and emits an audible signal as the surgeon approximates the location of the affected node. Once detected, the lymph node is removed and the biopsy is performed.

Health Minister Joe Cassar said that the device helped limit the number of nodes treated and, consequently, reduced the chance of complications like lymphoedema (fluid retention and swelling) of the arm.

Dr Cassar pointed out that the equipment was the second of its kind, after the first gamma probe was acquired in 2009.

The recent addition will ensure consistency in the service offered.

This year has seen 130 breast procedures and 10 procedures in malignant melanoma.

In April, the foundation had presented the hospital’s multidisciplinary team with a breast biopsy gun for breast surgeons, a pigmentation machine for plastic surgery and mastectomy brassieres for breast cancer patients.

In 2013, the gamma probe will also be used to detect early tumours which are being picked up through increased awareness and regular screening.