Patients will no longer have to be sent abroad for a particular type of breast biopsy following the investment of €80,000 in a new machine at Mater Dei Hospital.

Health Minister Chris Fearne this afternoon explained that five to six people with symptoms of a particular type of breast cancer used to be sent abroad each year for a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and allow the medical team to plan a way forward.

Jessica Muscat, breast radiologist and resident specialist, has meanwhile received training abroad that is complementary to this new technology at Mater Dei.

She explained that biopsies are carried out to diagnose irregularities caught by ultrasound and MRI scans.

Biopsies carried out through the new machine can be done under local anaesthetic and are less invasive, she said.

Dr Muscat referred to a particular case of a high-risk lesion, which is usually removed through an operation. With the new machine, the tissue was removed for diagnosis in under 20 minutes.

 

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