The Evolving Role of Ultrasound Guided Percutaneous Laser Ablation in Elderly Unresectable Breast Cancer Patients: A Feasibility Pilot Study

Figure 3

Another example of successful LA ablation in a patient with invasive ductal carcinoma of 15 mm of max diameter in the upper outer quadrant of the right breast. (a) The US image before treatment shows the hypoechoic lesion with blurred margins. (b) The US image shows the laser applicator (21G needle and fiber) which, with a course parallel to the chest wall, reaches the outer edge of the lesion. (c) Finally, the lesion is no longer appreciable, and in the treated area, there is an echogenic line with an evident shadow cone. (d) The US image of the ablated area in the first hours after treatment appears in the form of a heterogeneous predominantly hyperechoic zone (gas bubbles) with blurred margins.

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