Breast Center

International Standards, Pioneering Technology, Integrated Care

The new Metropolitan General Breast Center is a distinctive scientific medical center compliant with all international standards. It provides integrated, high-quality breast care services ranging from the stage of prevention and early diagnosis to therapy and rehabilitation. The Breast Center is staffed with an interdisciplinary team of medical imagers specialized in breast conditions, renowned and internationally recognized breast surgeons, experienced nursing staff and specialized technicians.

The Breast Center stresses early diagnosis, thus promoting good prognosis by performing a variety of medical procedures in a single one-stop visit to the Center, such as full imaging controls (breast ultrasound, elastography, digital mammography, tomosynthesis), clinical examinations and evaluations of imaging controls by breast surgeons and, whenever necessary, identification of any lesions (FNA cytological examinations, histology examinations, core biopsies, stereotactic biopsies, Mammomat Revelation procedures).

The aim of our Center is to attain complete and integrated treatment of breast diseases. To achieve such a goal, the Breast Center cooperates with physicians of a variety of pertinent specializations and the Clinic health care team, including patho-oncologists, plastic surgeons, patho-anatomists, nuclear physicians, gynecologists, invasive radiologists, psychologists, clinical dieticians and physical therapists.

The Center has state-of-the-art technology medical and technical equipment, such as the worldwide top-rated Mammomat Revelation Mammogram system, thus assuring the most reliable and rapid diagnosis.

The Breast Center accepts National Healthcare Service Organization (EOPYY) referrals for the performance of digital mammograms.

INTEGRATED BREAST CARE AND HEALTH SERVICES

PREVENTION AND EARLY DIAGNOSIS

Advanced Breast Imaging

Low-intensity digital mammography with localization and magnification views
Tomosynthesis
Digital mammography with contrast media
Breast ultrasonography - elastography
Breast MRI controls

Breast Outpatient Clinics

Clinical examination by a breast surgeon

Gene control on women with personal and family cancer breast and ovary medical history in cooperation with the Clinic’s Central Labs and the Molecular Biology and Cytogenetic Alfa Lab of the Hellenic Healthcare Group.

Interventional Diagnostic Procedures

Stereotactic biopsy: Advanced interventional methods of diagnostic biopsy on suspect and touch - evading breast lesions with no surgical operation
Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) paracentesis
Core biopsy: Extractions by means of percutaneous bloodless needle biopsies, with or without ultrasound guidance
Presurgical localization of touch-evading breast lesions by means of wire guide and the use of mammography or ultrasonography. In particular, a wire guide is inserted in the breast in order to accurately localize the lesion, thus facilitating the surgeon in subsequent removal procedures
Paracentesis, cyst aspiration and performance of abscess fluid cultures in cooperation with the Clinic’s Microbiology Lab
Cytology examination of breast tissue materials
Pathoanatomic Lab for immediate and reliable histology diagnosis

TREATMENT - THERAPY

Sentinel lymph gland biopsy. Specialized minimally invasive surgical removal of axillary lymph nodes for the determination of disease staging, whenever necessary, in cooperation with the Nuclear Medicine Department. This procedure foregoes unnecessary axillary lymph node cleansing and any prospective complications.
Label indexing prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The Metropolitan Hospital Breast center is one of the few such centers in Greece performing this pioneering method on patients suffering from certain types of cancer in need of presurgical chemotherapy. Through the placement of special labeling prior to chemotherapy-induced reduction and mammographical or ultrasonic tumor untraceability, a greater degree of safety is secured through surgical removal.
Modern breast oncology surgery through oncoplasty techniques thus making effective breast cancer treatment and excellent cosmetic results possible.
Corrective breast plastic surgery with immediate rehabilitation post-mastectomy by means of all contemporary methods.
Collaboration with our Clinic’s Pathological Oncology (Chemotherapy) Unit.
Cooperation with treatment centers of the Hellenic Healthcare Group of the Metropolitan and Hygeia Hospitals for performance of radiology treatments

SUPPORT - REHABILITATION

Psychological support for women and her family
Lymph edema Unit of the Physical therapy Department with the aid of specialized physical therapists

THE TOP - RANKED MAMMOMAT REVELATION MAMMOGRAPHY SYSTEM

Τhe Metropolitan General Breast Center is equipped with the pioneering Mammomat Revelation Mammography System made by Siemens Healthineers, which performs digital mammography, tomosynthesis, reconstitutive 2D and 3D images, contrast medium mammography, stereotactic biopsy with 2D mammography and tomosynthesis. This system has advanced technical features which significantly improve the end diagnostic outcome combined with a reduced radiation dosage up to 30%.

Wide - Angle Breast Tomosynthesis (3D imaging). Only the Mammomat Revelation system has an imaging angle 50° (as opposed to the other tomosynthesis equipment with much narrower scanning angles e.g. 15° etc). This is a significant advantage since wide angles provide better and multiple geometric data which are useful for a three-dimensional recomposition. In total, 25 images are utilized by this system in order to render 3D imagining, resulting in the highest possible visualization ability and localization of various breast structures. This leads to greater certainty in diagnosis, increasing the capability of tracing even the most minimal breast lesions, thus minimizing false positive or negative results and follow-ups for additional supplementary examinations.
The innovative PRIME technology allows, under certain conditions, the reduction of radiation dosage by up to 30% with the best possible images.
The capability of reconstitutive of Insight 2D views which are comparable with conventional digital mammography images. Thus we may compare the tomosynthesis examination with previous conventional digital mammogram images without resorting to necessarily use additional conventional views (thus reducing the radiation dosage by up to 40%).
Insight 3DE imaging yielding a real 3D video result that is immediate interpretable.
Automated Insight Breast Density Assessment. This allows immediate tracing or modification of strategic breast imaging during examinations on the basis of breast density. Increased density is considered a significant risk factor for breast cancer, while, according to all recent international directives, all increased breast density patients should include tomosynthesis in their diagnostic schedules.
Automated Personalized Breast Compression. This reduces compression intensity and time resulting in the pain and discomfort reduction for the patient under examination. Breast compression is necessary to yield a sound diagnostic outcome and reduction in radiation dosage. The greater the compression, the better tissue distinction and the more accurate the mammogram images are. The lesser the breast thickness, the lesser the radiation dosage.
Titanium Contrast-Enhanced Mammography (TiCEM). This kind of mammography may be used as a direct diagnostic tool when compared to magnetic mammography on women with diagnostic problems, family medical history and failure to perform magnetic mammography.
Advanced stereotactic localization and breast biopsy with or without tomosynthesis (HD tomo biopsy) that allows targeting with (+/-) 1 mm precision, by using wide-angle tomosynthesis technology. This way we attain higher precision and reduction in procedure time. The procedure is performed in a comfortable, specially-designed biopsy chair, with local anesthesia and a miniscule section of few millimeters. The advanced In Spect Imaging Tool affords us the application of real-time radiology imaging of biopsy material on the same equipment, improving the interventional procedure technique and, for that reason, the overall comfort of the examination.

STATE-OF-THE-ART BREAST IMAGING TECHNOLOGY

High - Resolution Ultrasonography - Elastography

Exclusive high-resolution breast ultrasonography, capable of applying the elastography (Strain and Shear Wave Elastography), an important auxiliary technique in the diagnosis of malignant or benign tumors.

Advanced Magnetic Mammography and Breast Biopsy Magnetic Mammography Guidance

Equipped with two modern 1.5 and 3 Tesla Magnetic Mammography Systems with multichannel magnetic coils specialized in producing the most detailed and quality breast examination results, bolstered by more state-of-the-art technical features (such as diffusion, spectroscopy and dynamic contrast techniques). The image studies conducted on a special processing station aid the radiologist to better trace and identify lesions that escape digital mammography and ultrasound detection.

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