WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsMcLeod Stereotactic Breast Biopsy Unit receives ACR accreditation

McLeod Stereotactic Breast Biopsy Unit receives ACR accreditation

FLORENCE, SC (WMBF) - The Stereotactic Breast Biopsy Unit at McLeod Health has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation as the result of a recent survey by the American College of Radiology.

Officials with McLeod Health say the CR awards accreditation to facilities for the achievement of high practice standards after a peer-reviewed evaluation of the practice. Board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field conduct the evaluation. They assess the qualifications of the personnel and the adequacy of facility equipment. The surveyors report their findings to the ACR's Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report.

A Stereotactic Breast Biopsy is a means of obtaining a sample of tissue from a suspicious area in the breast using a special type of needle instead of surgery. Specialized computer software, called the DynaCAD (computer-aided detection) system, helps to precisely determine where the needle should travel to obtain the best sample of tissue.

The procedure is similar to having a mammogram lying down. The actual needle biopsy is very small and very fast. Most women say they do not feel anything except the pressure of the mammogram itself. Since the needle creates a very small puncture in the breast, no stitches are required afterward.

In addition, the procedure can be performed in approximately one hour using local anesthesia. The breast appearance is not affected, and there is no scar tissue to distort future mammograms.

Funds raised from the 2009 Cancer Benefit Dinner hosted by the McLeod Foundation in October, have allowed the hospital to purchase a new Dedicated Breast MRI Biopsy Table. The biopsy table allows for a customized exam that performs more accurate biopsies by permitting access to every quadrant of the breast. The addition to the McLeod Breast Health Program will improve diagnosis, provide access to better treatment options locally and possibly increase survival for cancer patients by detecting cancer at an earlier, more treatable stage.

McLeod Health is the fourth hospital in the state to offer this cutting edge technology.

The ACR, whose headquarters are located in Reston, VA, is a national organization serving more than 32,000 diagnostic-interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.

©2009 WMBF News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.