Twin Cities Community Hospital is the first in the county to offer SCOUT® radar localization technology to treat women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.

The sophisticated technology helps:

• Confirmation of the tissue to be remove
• Surgical planning and guidance
• Tumor localization

Instead of wires, SCOUT® uses a reflector about the size of a grain of rice. It can be placed in the tumor up to 30 days before surgery. The reflector isn't externally visible and placement does not restrict movements. The reflector is passive until activated, when safe, nonradioactive radar waves are used to detect it.

Wire-free radar localization for breast and lymph node surgery allows for precision in locating tumors, increasing the probability of complete cancer removal and reducing the likelihood of follow-up surgeries.  In addition, the ability to strategically plan the incision may result in better cosmetic outcomes.

The nonradioactive surgical guidance technology then guides the surgeon to the precise site of the tumor and can increase the likelihood of complete tumor removal.

The advantages to patients:

• Added comfort during procedure since no invasive guide wires are used
• Decreased wait times between radiology and surgery
• Easier localization of the breast tumor
• Enhanced surgical success of targeted tumors
• FDA approved for targeting other non-breast tissues, including lymph nodes and other body parts
• Fewer surgical delays
• Improved patient satisfaction and well-being

When tumors are accurately located during the first surgery, any additional treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, can occur faster.

In addition to this new technology, Templeton Imaging and Selma Carlson, our Imaging partners, offer 3D mammography (breast tomosynthesis) for breast cancer screening. Breast cancer screening with tomosynthesis when combined with a conventional 2D mammography has a 40 percent higher invasive cancer detection rate than conventional 2D mammography alone.