Surgeon-Performed Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Complex Breast Lesions: Implications for Oncologic Diagnosis and Surgical Planning.

Authors

Christelle Najib, Hussein Hamze, Ali Hteit, Youssef Finianos, Georges S Nicolas, Rony Bou Rizk, Joel Al Rumhein, Saadeddine Abou Zahr, Aya El Hindi, Manuel Manouchakian, Alexandre El Hajj, Mohamad Tlais, Issam El Fassih, Mohamad I Siblini

Published in

Cureus. Volume 18. Issue 8. Pages e115072. Epub Aug 24, 2026.

Abstract

Surgeon-performed point-of-care breast ultrasound (POCUS) has become a practical adjunct in the evaluation and management of breast lesions, allowing real-time imaging to be incorporated directly into clinical and operative decision-making. In the oncologic setting, complex breast lesions often require timely characterization, tissue diagnosis, localization, and surgical planning, and the separation of imaging and surgical workflows may contribute to delay, fragmented care, and reduced procedural efficiency. This narrative review examines the technical principles, diagnostic applications, surgical planning utility, clinical outcomes, and implementation requirements of surgeon-performed POCUS in complex breast disease. PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched without language restriction, and the retrieved evidence was synthesized thematically. No protocol was registered, and no formal risk-of-bias assessment or quantitative pooling was undertaken. Surgeon-performed POCUS supports immediate assessment of palpable, screening-detected, cystic, solid, and otherwise complex breast lesions using standardized sonographic descriptors and Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) interpretation. Limited prospective data indicate diagnostic validity approaching that of radiologist-performed ultrasound when the examination is undertaken by appropriately trained surgeons, although direct head-to-head comparisons remain scarce. In breast-conserving surgery (BCS), predominantly single-institution observational studies have associated intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) guidance with improved lesion localization, lower positive margin and re-excision rates, and favorable cosmetic outcomes. The technique also facilitates same-visit interventions, including aspiration, core needle biopsy, clip placement, and preoperative localization. Successful adoption requires competency-based training, quality assurance, and institutional credentialing within multidisciplinary breast care models. By linking imaging, biopsy, localization, and operative planning within a single workflow, surgeon-performed POCUS may improve diagnostic efficiency and patient-centered outcomes, although the supporting evidence is largely observational and prospective comparative trials are lacking.

PMID:
42781577
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 25 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.