Purpose: The authors report their experience in presurgical localization of non palpable lesions with black carbon powder.
Materials and methods: 153 cases of primary tumorectomies and mastectomies have been reviewed. The suspension is prepared in the hospital's pharmacy, the procedure is performed days or weeks before scheduled surgery without diffusion in the surrounding tissues.
Results: In 92% of cases, the carbon marker was observed less than 5 mm from the target and no significant interference with the pathologic diagnosis has been observed.
Conclusion: Patient tolerance is good and providing close collaboration between the different members of the treating team, the authors believe that this technique may be a good alternative to wire localization.