New technologies at St. Francis Hospital to benefit breast cancer patients

Two new surgical technologies acquired by St, Francis Hospital in Columbus will benefit breast cancer patients.

In a news release Monday, St. Francis announced it now has the SPY Elite Intraoperative Perfusion Assessment System and the Faxitron Biovision Breast Speciman X-ray system.

The SPY Elite System will be used in the operating room by breast surgeons, plastic surgeons and colorectal surgeons.

The release says it is the first and most advanced fluorescence imaging system that enables surgeons performing open procedures, such as breast and other reconstructive procedures, as well, as gastrointestinal surgery, to visualize microvascular blood flow allowing for better assessment of blood supply and distinction between healthy and unhealthy tissue.

The Faxitron Biovision technology helps surgeons removing potentially cancerous tissue to more clearly identify microcopic calcifications, securing clear margins while sparing as much skin and tissue as possible.

Breast surgeon Charles Scarborough says in the release that the Faxitron Biovision technology provides immediate verification of excised breast tissue margins.

“This raises the standard care to a new level for patients undergoing surgical excision or biopsy procedures,” Scarborough said.

“During complex reconstructive surgery, ensuring adequate perfusion - blood flow - to tissue is critical to achieving the best possible outcomes and preventing complications. By using near-infrared light technology, the SPY Elite technology extends the boundaries of the surgeon’s eye in real-time in the operating room, essentially allowing surgeons to visualize blood flow in large and small vessels in the skin and other soft tissue,” said plastic surgeon Ashish Jain in the report.

Jain said the technology gives surgeons “every advantage in the effort to preserve as much of the breast as possible and that gives patients peace of mind.”

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 1:27 PM with the headline "New technologies at St. Francis Hospital to benefit breast cancer patients."