Beads

perfidia
perfidia Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hi all,

I'm new here. I had a stereotactic biopsy done, which led the surgeon to do a lumpectomy with the removal of surrounding tissue, recently. The pathology report came back with the diagnosis of low grade DCIS at 0. I was a same day patient and before the surgery was done, the surgeon came in to talk to me and told me that during the surgery, when the lumpectomy was done, he was going to fill the gap with beads. I was somewhat sedated, so I didn't think to ask him why he was doing this. I'm kinda thinking now that the beads are sort of a marker in case I need radiation. Anyone heard of beads being placed for filling in the gap left after a lumpectomy is done?

=========== U P D A T E ================

Hi all,

Thank you for all the info you shared. Sorry for coming back so late. To the suggestion that cabbott gave me . . . yes I had access to the pathology report and I read it from top to bottom, but didn't see anything that indicated anything having to do with beads. What I do feel now is thickening of the area, which must be scar tissue. The good news was, I didn't have to have radiation. In other words, because my bc was non-invasive and still stage 0, I was given the option of having or not having radiation. I chose not to have it, which was still considered to within the "standard" procedure, for my type of DCIS. Also, forgot to mention that during the stereotactic biopsy, there was a marker left in place, which was taken out when they did the lumpectomy. Thank you all once again and blessings.

Comments

  • taleena
    taleena Member Posts: 1,612 Member
    #2
    I just wanted to welcome you
    I just wanted to welcome you to this site, sorry for the reason that you are here, but glad you found this site with amazing people who have walked the journey at every level... you will find an abundance of support, information and compassion. I have heard of them leaving markers inside during a surgery just in case they have to go back and locate an area, but have never heard of them leaving in beads to fill the space. I would ask about that, you can always call your doctors office and speak with the nurse... I'm curious to see if anyone else has heard of this.. again welcome.

    ♥
    ~T
  • Kat11
    Kat11 Member Posts: 1,931 Member
    #3
    taleena said:

    I just wanted to welcome you
    I just wanted to welcome you to this site, sorry for the reason that you are here, but glad you found this site with amazing people who have walked the journey at every level... you will find an abundance of support, information and compassion. I have heard of them leaving markers inside during a surgery just in case they have to go back and locate an area, but have never heard of them leaving in beads to fill the space. I would ask about that, you can always call your doctors office and speak with the nurse... I'm curious to see if anyone else has heard of this.. again welcome.

    ♥
    ~T

    Hi and welcome, I have not
    Hi and welcome, I have not heard of beads, but they do place what is called markers, so they can find the spot in the future.
  • cats_toy
    cats_toy Member Posts: 1,462 Member
    #4
    welcome perfidia!
    and, no! you have stumped me. Never heard of adding beads. Find out next time you talk to the doc. And good luck with the next phase of your treatment!
    Cat
  • Kylez
    Kylez Member Posts: 3,761 Member
    #5
    cats_toy said:

    welcome perfidia!
    and, no! you have stumped me. Never heard of adding beads. Find out next time you talk to the doc. And good luck with the next phase of your treatment!
    Cat

    hmmm
    Hi and welcome! I have never heard of beads either, but, during a core biopsy, they usually put in a titanium marker. It is very, very small. Is that what he meant?

    ♥Kylez♥
  • lanie940
    lanie940 Member Posts: 490 Member
    #6
    Kylez said:

    hmmm
    Hi and welcome! I have never heard of beads either, but, during a core biopsy, they usually put in a titanium marker. It is very, very small. Is that what he meant?

    ♥Kylez♥

    That's what I had a titanium
    That's what I had a titanium marker. Maybe it's "seeds" they are referring to. When you have a "mammosite" placed in your breast for radiation treatment after a lumpectomy they do place a "seed" in there (in the little balloon) thingy. The mammosite is twice a day for a week. I would have done that, but my oncology surgeon didn't think it would stay in place because my tumor was fairly close to the skin of my breast.
  • Akiss4me
    Akiss4me Member Posts: 2,188
    #7
    Hi Perfidia..
    Just wanted to add my welcome. I too had a "titanium Clip" put in place. This does look like a rectangle shaped bead on an x-ray or ultrasound. Not sure if that is what he was refering to. I would think he would have called it a clip or marker. So I would maybe ask next time you get a chance and then let us know, as we are a curious bunch!! :O) Pammy
  • cabbott
    cabbott Member Posts: 1,039 Member
    #8
    Filling the gap
    It is usual to mark the spot where a biopsy or lumpectomy is done so that the surgeon can find it again should more surgery be needed and so that the radiologist can spot where surgery was done on future mammograms. The surgeon usually writes a report after surgery stating exactly who did what when. Oh the details! I can't say that it is fun reading such stuff unless you are really medically minded. However, if you can get a copy of that report from the hospital (and remember that it is your report so you have a right to it if it exists)--and if you can bear reading it--it will state just exactly what the surgeon put in the the surgical area. The surgeon usually tells the patient about the marker so that you will be able to alert the techs should you need future scans.You can ask the surgeon for a copy of his report if the hospital doesn't have it if you have an appointment with him too. By the way, fluid often fills the area where surgery was done at least for a period after surgery, so my friends told me.

    C. Abbott
  • Kylez
    Kylez Member Posts: 3,761 Member
    #9
    cabbott said:

    Filling the gap
    It is usual to mark the spot where a biopsy or lumpectomy is done so that the surgeon can find it again should more surgery be needed and so that the radiologist can spot where surgery was done on future mammograms. The surgeon usually writes a report after surgery stating exactly who did what when. Oh the details! I can't say that it is fun reading such stuff unless you are really medically minded. However, if you can get a copy of that report from the hospital (and remember that it is your report so you have a right to it if it exists)--and if you can bear reading it--it will state just exactly what the surgeon put in the the surgical area. The surgeon usually tells the patient about the marker so that you will be able to alert the techs should you need future scans.You can ask the surgeon for a copy of his report if the hospital doesn't have it if you have an appointment with him too. By the way, fluid often fills the area where surgery was done at least for a period after surgery, so my friends told me.

    C. Abbott

    My titanium marker looks
    My titanium marker looks exactly like the bc ribbon.

    ♥Kylez♥

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