Breast and Axilla Localisation Techniques: Current Trends, Techniques and Tips

Breast cancer remains one of the most common cancers worldwide, with surgery still serving as the primary treatment modality. Up to 30% of breast cancers are impalpable at diagnosis, necessitating lesion localisation. Currently, wire-guided localisation remains the gold standard for managing non-palpable lesions. However, inherent limitations of this technique, combined with recent technological advances, have driven a progressive shift toward non-wire localisation methods. Similarly, the management of axillary tumours has evolved, moving from radical axillary surgery toward more conservative approaches, such as targeted axillary dissection.

This book, the first dedicated solely to these topics, provides an up-to-date guide on current trends, advanced knowledge, and practical skills. To support practitioners―including surgeons, radiologists, radiographers, and multidisciplinary teams―in updating their skills for daily clinical practice, this work provides a comprehensive overview of current trends, emerging knowledge, and practical tips.

Dr Raghavan Vidya is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham and a Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. She graduated from Stanley Medical College, India, completed postgraduate training in General Surgery, and obtained an MD (Research) from the University of Edinburgh on aromatase inhibitors. She has introduced and mentored several surgical innovations, including muscle-sparing implant-based breast reconstruction. She is the founder of the Global Breast Hub, aimed at improving international collaboration in breast surgery. Dr Vidya is committed to teaching and training and regularly lectures and delivers workshops as invited faculty at national and international meetings. She is the Royal College International Surgical Training Programme Lead for Breast Surgery and serves as Honorary Secretary and Trustee of the Association of Breast Surgery. She has over 160 peer-reviewed publications, has authored two books on breast reconstruction, and eBooks on Global and UK surgical training. She also serves as Associate Director of Genomics for the West Midlands, promotes the clinical application of genomics within the NHS, and is actively involved in clinical trials, with research interests in oncoplastic breast surgery, emerging technologies, and innovation in breast care.

Dr Nisha Sharma is the Director for Breast Screening and a consultant breast radiologist at Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust. She graduated from University of Glasgow in 1996. She completed a masters in Leadership in Healthcare in 2016 with the University of Birmingham and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. Dr Sharma is focussed on improving the patient pathway by utilising advances in technology and innovations, such as artificial intelligence. She developed the UK breast screening guidelines on how to manage high risk lesions of the breast. The guidelines were key to standardising practice in the UK and Dr Sharma was involved in developing the EUSOMA guidelines for managing high risk lesions in Europe. The guidelines have supported minimising over-treatment of high risk lesions, delivering improved patient care. She is actively involved in studies involving artificial intelligence, in the context of film reading, image quality assessment and breast density. Dr Sharma has over a 100 peer-reviewed publications, involved in writing national guidelines for the NHS BSP and written several book chapters.