Mammogram is a basic examination that is common for the patients undergoing a clinical breast examination. For the women aged 40 or older, it is recommended to take mammogram every 1 to 2 years as it is helpful to detect breast cancer at the early stage.
Daerim St. Mary's Hospital has Hologic's ultra-high-definition digital 2D and 3D mammography equipment (Selenia Dimension) so that accurate examinations are available. In particular, 3D mammography can obtain ultra-high quality images while minimizing radiation exposure. It increases the accuracy of the breast cancer diagnosis and lowers the rate of re-examination. By accurately spotting the location of micro-calcification through 3D mammography, a stereotactic-biopsy is available that performs a biopsy without a surgery so unnecessary surgeries can be avoided.

Breast ultrasound examination is important to check the lesion on the breast, to analyze the lesion from various angles including the shape or the color, and to determine whether to examine the tissue. When performing a biopsy, the needle acts as a guiding device to obtain the exact location of the abnormal tissue.
At Breast Cancer Center of Daerim St. Mary's Hospital, a radiology specialist conducts a breast ultrasound examination, who specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. We have 8 ultrasound equipment including Philips IU-22 with the best specifications. Depending on the patient’s preference, one or more of various equipment can be applied.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an examination necessary to diagnose the stage of breast cancer or metastases to lymph nodes in the armpit. Patients are not exposed to radiation, and one breast can be compared to the other one. The image is very clear, so the efficiency goes beyond the limitations of conventional simple mammogram or ultrasound. Daerim St. Mary's Hospital has Philips' Ingenia CX 3.0T MRI equipment. With the 3.0T high-end MRI equipment, examination time is saved. Thanks to the high-quality images, even microscopic lesions can be identified with.

If cancer is suspected, a biopsy is required to confirm the diagnosis. Among the various methods of biopsy, the most commonly used one is a “core needle biopsy”, in which a doctor collects a sample of tissue by using a needle. When a needle with a hollow core comes out of the cell quickly, a thin piece of tissue to be examined is removed so that a sample can be obtained.

Stereotactic biopsy is a biopsy procedure which uses a 3D mammography to localize a target lesion in three dimensions on the X, Y, and Z axes so that the sample can be analyzed accurately. In the past, the patient had to go through a surgical biopsy but now Stereotactic Biopsy helps make it easy to analyze a large portion of micro-calcified lesions without a surgery.

A vacuum-assisted breast biopsy is a biopsy procedure in which a sample of tissue is obtained using a core needle. A thicker needle is applied to obtain a sufficient specimen. In this procedure, the blade at the tip of the needle automatically moves back and forth to obtain the sample tissue. Meanwhile, negative pressure is applied with a vacuum to pull the tissue toward the needle so that the tissue can be obtained easily when the blade rotates. It is advantage that the accuracy of diagnoses is much higher since more tissue can be obtained and there is no need to prick the breast with a needle multiple times.