Just a note, not meaning to detrack the thread:
One of the things I questioned when Pat had her lumpectomy was the repeated mammograms, such as to find the exact location of the lump before surgery. The attending said it was no problem. They whisked her into the sonogram room, and had the lump pinpointed in seconds, right where it had shown up in previous mammograms we'd viewed. They placed a wire into it (it really should have had a flag on the end).
Really fast. No radiation. And no, uh,
mashing of things.
Unfortunately, the surgeon came in and decided at the last minute he wanted to work from a fresh mammogram instead. He asked if we would relent and let him order one for the surgery. He was the surgeon after all, so we reluctantly agreed.
The tech torqued the breast during the mammogram shot (easy to do, when you consider how it's done), and it misrepresented the location. As a result, there was
much more cutting and searching done than there ever should have been.
The sad part is that Pat was awake for the surgery, and asked why it was taking so long. Either she or I could have pointed to exactly where the offending tissue was, if only the surgeon hadn't given all his trust to that misguiding mammogram.
So sonography is something to consider in lieu of repeated mammograms, if it is only being used to target something the mammogram has already found.
The morals are (I guess): If there's a better way, use it; and If you know you're right, stick to your guns...
Best wishes,
