Abstract
Background
We retrospectively studied whether a needle guide is necessary when performing ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (US-FNAB) in patients with breast tumors.
Methods
A total of 47 patients (50 lesions) with breast tumors underwent US-FNAB with a needle guide and 127 patients (143 lesions) underwent the procedure without a needle guide (freehand biopsy). The diagnoses obtained by US-FNAB were compared with the surgical findings.
Results
The sensitivity of freehand biopsy for tumors <3 cm in diameter was significantly higher than that of the needle guide technique.
Conclusions
We recommend performing US-FNAB without a needle guide (freehand biopsy) in order to maximize the correct preoperative diagnosis rate, especially in patients with tumors <3 cm in diameter.
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