The needle has a tiny opening in the end with a miniature blade inside. Once it is next to the tumour, a button is pushed to create a vacuum which sucks tissue into the needle's opening.
As this happens, the blade spins round to shred the tumour and the debris is sucked out. This is repeated until all of the mass has been destroyed. The needle is withdrawn and a plaster stuck over the wound. Patients do not even need to have stitches.
Surgery in under an hour
'It's a tiny nick in the skin and it heals beautifully,' says Dr Perry. 'There have been other vacuum devices before but they would take up to 30 minutes, by which time there would be lots of bruising in the breast.
'So far we have treated 25 women. It can be used for lumps up to three centimetres in size and the majority of benign growths in the breast are less than that. But the real benefit is women can go home within the hour or even go back to work.'
The equipment costs around £30,000 to buy, but hospitals could recoup this money by saving on theatre time and keeping patients out of hospital beds.
Susan Owen, who lives in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, was the first woman in Britain to have the procedure. Originally from Houston in Texas, Susan, 46, has lived in the UK for five years. But it was during a trip to Houston last December that a routine mammogram found some hard tissue in her breasts.
A trained mammographer, Susan knew it was common for women to have benign growths. On her return home, she had two biopsies. These showed the growths in her left breast were nothing to worry about.
But the results for her right breast showed that Susan, a mother of three, had tiny growths which can, in rare cases, be surrounded by cancer cells or have cancer cells hidden inside them. She had the new procedure in January this year.
'I got to lie down for the whole of it,' says Susan. 'That was a relief because, for some breast biopsies, you have to sit up, which can be uncomfortable.
'Then they used local anaesthetic to numb the area so they could put the needle in. There was no pain at all and the whole thing was over in about 20 minutes. I even had time to stop for lunch on the way home.'
For more information, contact the Princess Grace Hospital on 020 7486 1234 or visit www.theprincessgracehospital.com.
4 people have commented on this story so far. Tell us what you think below.
Here's a sample of the latest comments published. You can click view all to read all comments that readers have sent in.
As a man who has had Breast Cancer and endured a full mastectomy followed by months of Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy - will I be able to be treated in the same way?
You only here about Breast Cancer affecting Women but some 300 men are diagnosed every year.
- David Wrigley, Brighouse England
I am horrified and appalled that such a technique as this is even considered for benign tumours, let alone malignant ones.
Firstly it is well known that even exploratory surgery and biopsies themselves can promote tumour formation. And secondly, as Clinical Oncology points out:
‘Needle biopsy is occasionally used . . . a needle track may harbor nests of cells which may form the basis for a later recurrent spread . . . Incisional biopsy of certain highly malignant tumors through an open operative field may be contraindicated because of risk of spread of the tumor throughout the operative field.’
If this can happen when a small piece of tumour is excised and removed for testing, how much more likely is the spread of cancer with the shredding of a tumour?
I repeat, I am appalled.
References
Kearney R. Factors affecting tumour growth. Int Clin Nutr Rev 1988; 8: 62
Rubin P, ed. Clinical Oncology for Medical Students and Physicians: 6th Edition.
- Dr Barry Groves, Oxford , England
Of course, this is wonderful news, but the angle of the reporting worries me: doesn't a woman with breast cancer deserve more time than her lunch hour to deal with it? Is it too much to ask to have a few days off work to come to terms with the psychological impact of having such a serious disease and undergoing what is, still, major surgery? Should we really be so obsessed with work that we rush back after surgery to clinch another deal/answer another complaint/teach another class? The British seem to me to undervalue their health, and to fail to appreciate the mind-body continuum, to a frightening extent.
- Helene , France
Hot water bottle really does ease period pains
It is advice women have passed down through the generations - a hot water bottle on the tummy can ease period pain.
Now scientists have proved that granny really did know best.
They say placing something warm on the skin can alleviate abdominal pain - such as that caused by cystitis or menstrual cramps - in a similar way to painkillers for up to an hour.
The research will be welcomed by millions of women who suffer debilitating period pains, which can leave them bedridden.
For some, the pain can be so severe that their careers, social lives and relationships are affected.
A survey last year found that one in ten young women regularly takes time off work as a result of period pains.
Two in five said the pain leaves them unable to concentrate on their jobs.
The scientists, from University College London, found that heat treatment works by
blocking pain messages to the brain.
Presenting his findings to the Physiological Society's annual conference, Dr Brian King said: 'The pain of colic, cystitis and menstrual period pain is caused by a temporary reduction in blood flow to organs, causing local tissue damage and activating pain receptors. 'The heat doesn't just provide comfort and have a placebo effect - it actually deactivates the pain at a molecular level in much the same way as pharmaceutical
painkillers work. We have discovered how this molecular process works.'
The researchers used genetic engineering to make heat and pain receptor proteins in the same cell and examined the interaction.
They found that if warmth over 40 degrees Celsius is applied to the skin near to where internal pain is felt, it switches on heat receptors at the site of injury.
These heat receptors in turn block the effect of chemical messengers that cause pain
to be detected by the body. Speaking in London, Dr King added: 'The problem with heat is that it can only provide temporary relief.
'The focus of future research will continue to be the discovery and development of pain relief drugs that will block pain receptors.
'Our research adds to a body of work showing that pain receptors are key to the development of drugs that will alleviate debilitating internal pain.'
Menstrual pain is one of the most common gynaecological complaints in women of reproductive age.
More than 80 per cent of British women are thought to suffer from period pains - many of whom will use painkillers to cope.
Last year, a survey carried out for Feminax, a painkiller manufacturer, found that 20 per cent of young women said their monthly pains cause trouble in their relationships, while one in three is left feeling depressed.
Several brands of stick-on patches which supply low-level heat to the abdomen are already available to buy overthecounter.
6 people have commented on this story so far. Tell us what you think below.
Here's a sample of the latest comments published. You can click view all to read all comments that readers have sent in.
Wouldn't be without my hot water bottle. Eases the pain, and very comforting also.
- Elizabeth, Vancouver , Canada
The old methods are always the best!
- Helen, Deddington, Oxfordshire
Hot water bottles don't do a thing for me. But I have found that if I vocalise my pain by begging for 'mercy' and making other noises (btw I'm available for sound effects for horror movies) while having BBC News 24 on the tv, that helps me through the pain. And could those scientists please tell me why the cramps start in the middle of the night? I better stop typing now, I have a little over 12hrs to go before I start begging for mercy again.
- Elizabeth, Edinburgh , Scotland |
