OBJECTIVETo assess the clinical value of ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted Mammotome (MMT) system for surgical resection of benign breast disease.

METHODSThis retrospective study was conducted among 1267 patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery with ultrasound-guided MMT system for benign breast disease at our center between January, 2009 and January, 2014. The resection rate, incidence of complication, recurrence rate, patients' satisfaction, clinical follow-up results and risk factors were analyzed. The patients were followed up at 1 month, 6 months and every 6 months thereafter for up to 2 years with a median follow-up of 22 months.

RESULTSOf the total of 1267 patients, 1259 (99.36%) had complete resection of the breast lesions, and residual lesions were found in 8 cases 1 month after the operation. The resection rate was significantly associated with lesion size (P=0.003) but not with the patients'age, pathology, BI-RADS classification, or the number or location of the lesions (P>0.05). Eighty-nine (7.02%) patients showed postoperative complications, and hematoma occurred in 70 (5.52%) patients after the operation. The complication rate was significantly associated with the number and location of lesions (P=0.000) but not with age, pathology, BI-RADS classification or the lesion size (P>0.05). A total of 193 (15.23%) patients had recurrence after the operation, including 65 (5.13%) with in situ recurrence and 128 (10.1%) with new lesions. The recurrence rate was significantly associated with the number and size of lesions (P=0.000) but not with age, pathology, BI-RADS classification or location of lesions(P>0.05). Six patients were not satisfied with the appearance of the incision, and the overall satisfaction rate of the patients was 99.52%.

CONCLUSIONs Ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted MMT excision is a safe and effective procedure for benign breast disease with a low surgical complication rate, a high resection rate and a low recurrence rate. This technique results in good postoperative appearance for treatment of benign and high-risk breast lesions, especially multiple benign breast lesions.