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Patient Services > Women's Services
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Diagnostic &
surgical services
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Hill Country Memorial Hospital’s state-of-the-art diagnostic and surgical
services are part of our coordinated approach to detection and management of
women’s health issues. |
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Digital Mammography -
Hill Country Memorial Breast Center |
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Hill Country Memorial Hospital is now offering digital mammography
services at Hill Country Memorial Breast Center. The hospital’s two
new digital units offer diagnostic advantages unparalleled in the
industry, including superior image quality and enhanced ease of use.
Radiologists are able to adjust brightness and contrast in the
images, as well as zoom in on specific areas to help detect small
calcifications, masses and other changes that may be signs of early
cancer. This capability may eliminate some repeat views at the time
of the original exam, but it will not eliminate the need for
additional studies such as specialized mammography views, ultrasound
or MRI when indicated. The HCM Breast Center is located in the
Brune Professional Building, 808 Reuben Street, in Fredericksburg.
For more information or to make an appointment, please call
830-990-6181.
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Breast ultrasound
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Ultrasonography, used in conjunction with
mammography, is the technique of using sound waves to create an image of
part of the body without the use of radiation.
An ultrasound exam is a safe
diagnostic procedure that uses very-high-frequency sound waves to produce an
image of many of the internal structures of the body. Breast-specific
imaging helps radiologists fully evaluate targeted areas of the breast.
Ultrasound can be a useful tool to assist radiologists during breast
biopsies as well.
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Breast MRI
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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology uses a
mix of physics, mathematics and high-performance computing techniques.
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patient lies on her stomach on a special table. The breast to be examined
is suspended freely through an opening in a cushioned, wedge-shaped device
called a dedicated breast coil. It contains signal transmitters and
receivers for the radio frequencies used in MRI. Once the patient is
comfortably positioned, the table is moved into a magnetic field created by
a large magnet.
A super-computer reconstructs gathered information into 2D
and 3D images that vividly represent conditions of health, disease or
injury.
It is a noninvasive procedure that can determine what the inside of
the breast looks like without having to do surgery or flatten or compress
the breast.
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Stereotactic breast biopsy |
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A quicker, easier and less expensive way to do
breast biopsies is giving women a welcome health care option at Hill Country
Memorial Hospital.
We were the first hospital in the hill country to
offer stereotactic biopsy, a revolutionary technique that uses
three-dimensional images of the breast that surgeons use as a guide.
Instead of using a knife and a three- to four-inch
incision, the surgeon uses a needle to extract appropriate tissue samples.
Only a tiny nick in the skin is required, and no sutures are necessary. The
patient often goes home with only a small bandage. The entire procedure can
be completed in 20 to 30 minutes, often at one-third to one-half the cost of
a traditional surgical biopsy.
Other benefits: It's less invasive. Patients can
drive themselves to the hospital and they can drive themselves home. They
don't need an IV started, and they don't have to stop eating for anesthesia
purposes. It's a quicker, easier and less costly way to do breast biopsies
for certain lesions.
While stereotactic breast biopsy is not appropriate
for all lesions, it is worthy of discussion with your surgeon.
For more information, you may contact:
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Gregory D. Andreassian, M.D.
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Jay S. Stauffer, M.D.
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Sentinel node biopsy |
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Traditionally, when breast cancer is present and
testing the lymph nodes under the arms is indicated, all nodes are removed
and examined for cancer cells.
A sentinel lymph node is the first node in
the body to come into contact with the cancer cells as they leave the area
of origination. In the sentinel node biopsy procedure, by using a tracer
dye, particular nodes can be pinpointed, and only those few are removed,
resulting in less trauma to the patient.
The sentinel node procedure also is utilized with
melanoma patients, and It is used in a procedure called minimally invasive
radioguided parathyroidectony (MIRP) in which a gamma probe is used to
locate an abnormal parathyroid gland and allows for a small incision right
over the gland.
This procedure is available at Hill Country Memorial
Hospital, too.
For more information, you may contact:
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Gregory D. Andreassian, M.D.
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Jay S. Stauffer, M.D.
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Cosmetic surgery |
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Cosmetic surgery procedures available at Hill
Country Memorial Hospital include:
> Abdominoplasty
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Breast augmentation
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Breast reduction
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Breast implant exchange
> Blepharoplasty (eyelid)
Please contact one of the following physicians for
more information:
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Ernest G. Layton, Jr., M.D. at 866-714-4900
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Michael L. Walker, M.D.
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Hill Country
Memorial Hospital (830) 997-4353
1020 South State Highway 16, P O Box 835
Fredericksburg, Texas 78624
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