Breast MRI
Note: Currently Breat MRI is available only at our Melrose Park location.
About Breast MRI
Breast MRI uses Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to look specifically at the breast.
It is a non-invasive procedure that doctors can use to determine what the inside of the breast looks like without having to
do surgery or flatten the breast (as in a mammogram). Each exam produces hundreds of images of the breast which are then read
by a Radiologist. No radioactivity is involved, and the technique is believed to have no health hazards.
Normal mammograms use x-rays to generate images of the breast tissue to search for cancer. MRI, on the other hand, uses no x-rays.
The ability to identify a mass in the breast requires that the mass has a different appearance from normal tissue.
With MRI, the contrast between soft tissues in
the breast is 10 to 100 times greater than that obtained with x-rays. As opposed to x-rays, which are known to cause damage to
DNA of cells, the magnetic fields and radiowaves used with MRI are not known to have any long term biologic effect.
MRI of the breast does require intraveneous injection of a “contrast agent,” which helps to highlight breast abnormalities
in the photos taken during the scan. For MRI of the breast, the patient lies on her stomach with both breasts hanging freely
into a cushioned recess containing the breast coil. The subject will be asked to lie still for up to 15 minutes at a time while
the computer acquires the images. The total examination is made up of several scans, usually 5-15 minutes in length, totaling
40-60 minutes for the entire procedure.
Research has concluded that MRI is better than mammography at detecting breast cancer –
especially the invasive type – in women who are a high risk for developing the disease. Is has also been found that yearly
screening with MRI and mammography has led to the detection of cancers at an earlier stage than those detected by mammography
alone, or without regular screening. It is also excellent at imaging the augmented breast, when mammograms are no longer a
recommended screening option, and tissue that would be obscured by the implant on a mammogram will also be more effectively screened.
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Benefits of Breast MRI:
- Sensitive to small abnormalities
- Effective in dense breasts
- Can image breast implants/ruptures
- Can evaluate inverted nipples
- Can locate primary tumor in women whose cancer spread to armpit lymph nodes
- Can detect residual cancer after lumpectomy
- Can determine which type of surgery is indicated: lumpectomy or masectomy
- Can detect cancer recurrence after lumpectomy
- May be useful to screen women at high breast cancer risk
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