Ramsay Newsroom

Baringa Private Hospital in Coffs Harbour has unveiled a new SCOUT system – the first to be installed outside a major Australian city.

Dr Shehnarz Salindera from the Coffs Harbour Breast Clinic said: “It’s very exciting to be able to offer our regional community the latest technology in breast cancer care.”

“The SCOUT system is designed to make breast cancer surgery more accurate and result in less unnecessary tissue loss during lumpectomy.”

The SCOUT system helps a surgeon precisely locate tumours during surgery by using a tiny device, the size of a grain of rice, called a reflector. The reflector can identify a tumour’s location, guiding a surgeon on the shortest route for removal. The reflector is inserted under local anaesthetic and replaces a traditional, wired approach.

Baringa Private Hospital CEO, Jo Brown, said she hoped the new technology would make treatment a little easier for patients with breast cancer.

“This system reduces the number of procedures a patient will go through on the day of their surgery,” Ms Brown said.

“I’m so pleased to be able to offer the local community access to this technology, which was previously only available in large metropolitan cities.

“At Baringa Private Hospital, we’re committed to investing in better patient experiences and outcomes.”

The SCOUT system can also be used for removal of non-cancerous breast abnormalities. The SCOUT system was first used in the USA and has been used for more that half a million procedures worldwide.