Surgical therapy of non-palpable malignant breast lesions requires precise preoperative localisation. Recently, radioactive iodine seed localisation has excelled among the number of localisation methods. We present our first experience with this method at our department. We describe the structure of the radioactive iodine seed, the principles of preoperative localisation and peroperative detection of the seed, the specimen transport process, histopathological examination, storage and disposal of the seed, as well as aspects of radiation protection.
Keywords: breast cancer; breast-conserving surgery − breast cancer − radioactive seed; non-palpable breast lesions.