Impact of Standardized Intraoperative Ultrasound on Re-excision Rates in Breast-Conserving Surgery.

Cohort studyUltraschall in der Medizin (Stuttgart, Germany : 1980)· Aug 2026

Impact of Standardized Intraoperative Ultrasound on Re-excision Rates in Breast-Conserving Surgery.

Bettina Boeer, Felix Seltenreich, Birgitt Schönfisch … Markus Hahn

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Breast SurgeryCohort studyTreatmentQ2IF 1.4

Targeted ultrasound-guided shavings lowered re-excision rate in breast-conserving surgery

Impact of Standardized Intraoperative Ultrasound on Re-excision Rates in Breast-Conserving Surgery.

Bettina Boeer … Markus Hahn

Ultraschall in der Medizin (Stuttgart, Germany · Aug 2026 · Q2 in General Medicine

Background

The primary objective of breast-conserving surgery (breast-conserving surgery) is complete excision of the tumor with histologically negative margins (R0 resection).

Purpose

This study aimed to evaluate whether standardization using the "Tübingen Ultrasound Ruler" can reduce R1 resection rates.

Methods

This retrospective study included 273 patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery between January 2020 and December 2023 for unilateral or bilateral ductal carcinoma in situ and/or invasive breast cancer, regardless of tumor biology, the presence of microcalcifications, or prior chemotherapy.

n = 282 specimens

8.5%

Results

8.5%

additional targeted shavings dropped positive margins needing re-excision to this rate

n = 282 specimens

More results

Considering the main resection specimen alone, the R1 rate was 18.8%.

Compared with the mean R1 rate of the average figures of OnkoZert-certified breast centers reported between 2020 and 2023 (12.34%), the use of the "Tübingen Ultrasound Ruler" in combination with specimen imaging was associated with a significantly lower R1 rate (p = 0.043).

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Conclusion

Standardization of the intraoperative ultrasound technique combined with imaging-guided targeted shavings makes it possible to achieve a low R1 rate (8.5%) in breast-conserving surgery.

Impact of Standardized Intraoperative Ultrasound on Re-excision Rates in Breast-Conserving Surgery.

Impact of Standardized Intraoperative Ultrasound on Re-excision Rates in Breast-Conserving Surgery.

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