Earlier this year Mammography & Ultrasound Specialists began providing Breast Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) and and is one of only four health care providers in the Houston area to do so.
While standard film or digital mammography is the accepted imaging procedure for breast cancer screening, BSGI provides a very sensitive test to determine if a suspicious mass is benign or malignant. It involves the injection of a small amount of a radioactive tracer which is attracted to areas of increased metabolism (i.e., cancer cells). With regular mammography (and ultrasound) we can only detect the location, size and shape of a mass. BSGI can aid in the decision of whether or not to order a breast biopsy. Some studies have suggested that as many as 80% of breast biopsies are unnecessary. Biopsies are also painful, stressful and expensive.
The two images on the left below are standard mammograms. Lesions are identifiable only by size and shape and may be obscured by dense breast tissue- a common problem. The images on the right are the same patient with BSGI. The dark spots are cancer.
For more information on BSGI, call us at 713-668-7481 or e-mail us at info@houstonmammo.com |
