Abstract
ABSTRACT
Breast cancer is one of the most frequent causes of death in women. Laser-induced thermotherapy (LITT), a treatment modality that enables the destruction of tumors in a minimally invasive way, has been used to treat different types of tumors. One major problem during the application of LITT is the on-line control of laser tissue effects. The effect of LITT as a palliative treatment for patients who had undergone conventional pretreatment modalities (surgery, radiotherapy, and/or chemotherapy) and who were suffering from local recurrences of breast cancer was investigated. The laser used was a Nd:YAG laser with a wave-length of 1064 nm. Heat expansion was controlled digitally and monitored by ultrasound and color-coded duplex sonography (CCDS), respectively. The extent of the coagulation zone was visible by use of B-scan ultrasonography. Thermal coagulation of the tumor was achieved without affecting the skin and without postoperative skin ulceration, with marked reduction in the tumor size. All patients are scheduled for long-term follow-up. We found CCDS to be sensitive and efficient in providing information about the tumor site and its surrounding structures, the accurate position of the laser fiber, the range of temperature development, and the volume of the coagulation zone. CCDS-guided interstitial laser therapy is a safe and minimally invasive method for palliative treatment of subcutaneous local recurrences of breast cancer. (J GYNECOL SURG 14:65, 1998).
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.