Dr. Emran Imami, medical director of TEPAS Breast Center in Melbourne, performs the first cryoablation assisted lumpectomy for breast cancer in Brevard, assisted by Susie Martinez, at the Apollo Surgery Center in Melbourne.
Brenda Reynolds had let the time between mammograms spread out until five years had elapsed. When her primary physician encouraged her to get going and get a mammogram. Reynolds eventually agreed, a wise decision, for Reynolds’ mammogram revealed a 1½ cm malignant tumor. Mammograms 🙁 vs. Thermograms 🙂
Luck was on Reynolds’ side, for the tumor was still small. Better yet, she could avail herself of the procedure known as cryoablation, which Dr. Emran Imami, medical director of TEPAS Breast Center, used to eradicate the tumor with the least amount of issues, discomfort and downtime for Reynolds.
Her age and the size of her tumor made for a perfect candidate for cryoablation. Reynolds is the first patient in the county to benefit from this technique, which freezes the tumor mass with liquid nitrogen, thus damaging adjacent vasculature, which in turn cuts off tumor growth.
Cryoablation, per se, is not news.
“For decades, cryoablation has been used to treat benign and malignant tumors in the liver, lung and prostate, but not the breast,” Imami said.
Imami used the Visica 2 Treatment System, created by California-based Sanarus as an alternative to traditional surgical lumpectomy. The System is FDA-cleared for the ablation of both cancerous and benign tumors.
Leading radiologists and breast surgeons around the country have turned to this option for early stage breast tumors in hundreds of occasions, but according to data from Sanarus, Imami is the first specialist along the Space Coast to take advantage of this procedure.
“This new option is a safe and effective nonsurgical treatment to destroy tumors and surrounding tissue,” Imami said.
Although it seems ideal because it is so minimally invasive, cryoablation is, unfortunately, not for everyone. It is considered an appropriate treatment for women 65 years and older with early stage breast cancer.
Using the Sanarus technology, Imami placed a probe in the center of Reynolds’ tumor and froze it with liquid nitrogen.Thirty years ago, Reynolds would have faced a much more drastic treatment.
“It would have been a radical mastectomy back then, but we’ve gone from that to lumpectomy to now cryoablation,” Imami said. “Medicine has moved significantly toward less invasive procedures such as cryoablation.”
With cryoablation, a hollow-tipped probe is passed through a tiny quarter-inch incision into the breast. Using ultrasound imagery, Imami guided the probe into the center of Reynolds’ tumor and then directed low-pressure liquid nitrogen to form an ice ball around it.
It gives new meaning to the word ‘popsicle,’ ” Reynolds joked.
Tumor cells are destroyed through several freeze-thaw cycles, while the surrounding healthy tissue remains intact. The dead tumor cells are expelled by the body over a period that lasts between 3 to 18 months.
The benefits of the procedure are many. As opposed to a traditional lumpectomy, which lasts about an hour, cryoablation can be performed in 10 to 20 minutes. No breast tissue is removed, so the shape of the breast is maintained with little scarring.
“Most patients report minimal discomfort and are able to resume normal activity immediately,” Imami said.
“I haven’t had one moment of discomfort, other than just a little rash and some itchiness,” she said.
After the outpatient procedure, Reynolds underwent SAVI, or Strut-Adjusted Volume Implant radiation, nicknamed “Hollywood designer radiation.” The high-intensity SAVI device, which is implanted into the tumor cavity, reduces treatment from six weeks to five days. The device is loaded with radioactive seeds to provide radiation from inside the breast, thus minimizing harm to healthy tissue and lowering the risk of negative side effects.
“We’re giving radiation from the inside out, so you’re using a smaller dose,” Imami said.
Cryoablation is also indicated for issues such as fibroadenomas, benign lesions of the breast. The most popular form of breast abnormalities !!!!
If there is a down side to the use of cryoablation with breast cancer patients, it is the fact that Medicare and many other insurers do not cover the procedure.
“They’re lagging behind in acceptance, but it won’t be long until it becomes mainstream,” Imami said.
Reynolds knows she dodged a huge bullet by being at the right place at the right time with the right doctors. She will not be lagging behind her mammogram schedule ever again.
Tepas Breast Center is located at the Nasa Palms Professional Center: 1140 Broadband Drive, Melbourne Florida 32901. Tepas’ phone number: 321-312-4178. https://www.facebook.com/
Mindy Levy from Lite Rock 99.3 sits with Emran Imami, MD from TEPAS Breast Center to discuss the newest technology and advancements in the world of Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer treatments.
