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Department of Surgery, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas

To the Editor:

Office-based and intraoperative ultrasound remarkably enhance the surgeon’s care of patients with breast disease. Unfortunately, the historical root of the surgeon’s education has not emphasized image interpretation skills, particularly in the area of ultrasound. As such, the surgeon faces a minor hurdle in acquiring the necessary knowledge in providing this enhanced value to his/her patient population. Educational efforts across the United States on behalf of individuals and the American College of Surgeons have emphasized the need for surgeons to move rapidly in adopting breast ultrasound. Unfortunately, the adoption curve has been very slow and gradual. A primary reason for the slow adoption of breast ultrasound in office and operating room settings is that surgeons tend to overestimate the interpretation skills required for adopting breast ultrasound in clinical practice. This perception is in stark contrast with the reality; early experience shows that surgeons rapidly attain levels of skill with ultrasound equivalent to radiological specialists whose practice is dedicated to breast imaging and diagnosis. The evolution of new diagnostic technologies and new therapeutic applications that are based upon the ability of the treating physician to visualize ultrasound images increasingly mandate the incorporation of ultrasound by surgeons interested in caring for patients with breast disease. Dr. Kaufman’s article is another in a series of articles documenting specific clinical applications where breast ultrasound is the preferred approach.¹

REFERENCE

1. Kaufman CS, Jacobson L, Bachman B, Kaufman L. Intraoperative ultrasound facilitates surgery for early breast cancer. Ann Surg Oncol 2002; 9: 988–93.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

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