New Wireless Handheld Ultrasound-Guided Vacuum-Assisted Breast Biopsy (VABB) Devices: An Important Innovation in Breast Diagnosis

Vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VABB) plays a fundamental role in the preoperative assessment of breast lesions pro- viding large histology samples that are useful to define diagnoses and biological parameters to guide treatment planning. This technique has been used in our institute since 2000 and two new wireless handheld ultrasound-guided VABB de- vices have been introduced since May 2012. In this report we analyze our experience with these revolutionary devices which are able to provide the option of single-insertion contiguous tissue samples respectively with a 13/14-gauge aperture. Our initial experience on 75 lesions shows that these devices are safe, fast, procedurally advantageous for operators and well accepted by patients. Finally VABB procedures can markedly reduce the need for surgical biopsy.