Prisma Health adds new breast cancer surgery tool to its arsenal to help improve patient experience and streamline surgical procedures
COLUMBIA, S.C.—Prisma Health-Midlands is proud to add a new breast cancer surgery tool, known as Magseed® device, to help simplify breast cancer treatment, improve accuracy and provide a better patient experience. The device is a small radiation-free seed-like device that is easily placed by the radiologist up to 30 days before surgery. It is designed to accurately mark the site of cancerous tissue and help with its removal in surgery, enabling a more flexible and precise tumor localization, while also reducing the need for invasive day-of procedures involving placing a wire or wires through the breast tissue. Prisma Health Richland Hospital is the first hospital in Midlands to have this tool.
Bringing this new product to Prisma Health patients was led by senior medical director of Oncology Services at Prisma Health–Midlands, Dr. Julian Kim. He is a fellowship-trained surgical oncologist with more than 25 years of experience in the management of patients with cancers of the breast. He believes the less invasive procedure offers increased dignity to patients who may already be dealing with the emotional toll of losing part or all of their breast.
“A positive patient experience is paramount at Prisma Heath, but it is vastly important in the treatment of cancer. My female patients have often shared what it feels like, emotionally, to essentially lose a part of themselves that is so closely connected to their femininity. It can leave them feeling deformed,” said Kim. “Older techniques involving long wire detectors the morning of surgery can compound this feeling, degrading the patient experience. I believe it is our jobs as physicians to seek innovative ways that can save lives, but also preserve dignity.”
Smaller than a grain of rice, the device is highly visible using ultrasound and other imaging techniques. This allows the device to be accessed by Prisma Health surgeons from any approach and offers guidance to the distance of the cancerous lesion through the use of a magnetic indicator. The device has been internationally praised by physicians for addressing technical, logistical, and potential safety issues associated with other localization procedures involving wires or radioactive seeds. The introduction of the Magseed is a positive step forward in Prisma Health’s continued focus on elevating the patient experience and improving patient outcomes.
“We want our patients to feel that we are considering all aspects of their breast cancer treatment, be it addressing their physical needs or their emotional ones. Fortunately, adding this tool allows us to do both,” said Kim. “As we begin using this with our patients, I look forward to the good this will bring to them, their families, and to the staff working daily to save and enhance lives.”
The device was fully funded by generous donors of Prisma Health Midlands Foundation. The Atrium Society and The Cavalry, annual giving societies supporting Prisma Health Cancer Centers, led a campaign to raise more than $63,000 in funding.
About Prisma Health
Prisma Health is a not-for-profit health company and the largest healthcare system in South Carolina. With nearly 30,000 team members, 18 hospitals, 2,947 beds and more than 300 physician practice sites, Prisma Health serves more than 1.2 million unique patients annually. Its goal is to improve the health of all South Carolinians by enhancing clinical quality, the patient experience and access to affordable care, as well as conducting clinical research and training the next generation of medical professionals. For more information, visit PrismaHealth.org.
About Dr. Julian Kim
Julian Kim, MD, is a fellowship-trained surgical oncologist with more than 25 years of experience in the management of patients with cancers of the breast, skin (including melanoma) and soft tissue sarcomas of the trunk and abdomen. He also treats patients with cancer of the stomach and small intestine, including performance of palliative surgery for metastatic disease. Kim has experience in nipple-sparing mastectomy and oncoplastic breast surgery.
He is board certified in general surgery and participates in acute-care surgery coverage for Prisma Health Richland Hospital. Dr. Kim serves as the senior medical director of Oncology Services at Prisma Health–Midlands and has spent his entire career working in National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. His previous positions include practice at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, and serving as the inaugural chief medical officer of the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Hospital, also in Cleveland.