New breast cancer tech unveiled at Baringa Private Hospital

Technology for breast cancer treatment can now be accessed by patients on the NSW mid north coast.

Baringa Private Hospital in Coffs Harbour has unveiled a new SCOUT system — the first to be installed outside a major Australian city.

The SCOUT system helps a surgeon precisely locate tumours during surgery by using a tiny device, the size of a grain of rice, called a reflector. The reflector can identify a tumour’s location, guiding a surgeon on the shortest route for removal. The reflector is inserted under local anaesthetic and replaces a traditional, wired approach.

“It’s very exciting to be able to offer our regional community the latest technology in breast cancer care,” said Dr Shehnarz Salindera from the Coffs Harbour Breast Clinic.

“The SCOUT system is designed to make breast cancer surgery more accurate and result in less unnecessary tissue loss during lumpectomy.”

Baringa Private Hospital CEO Jo Brown said she hoped the new technology would make treatment a little easier for patients with breast cancer.

“This system reduces the number of procedures a patient will go through on the day of their surgery,” Brown said.

“I’m so pleased to be able to offer the local community access to this technology, which was previously only available in large metropolitan cities.”

The SCOUT system can also be used for removal of non-cancerous breast abnormalities. The SCOUT system was first used in the USA and has been used for more than half a million procedures worldwide.

Image courtesy of Ramsay Health Care.