What are the Common Uses of Breast MRI?
Breast MRI offers several potential benefits in helping to investigate breast problems. An MRI exam allows breast images to be taken in any plane and from any orientation. It is highly sensitive in detecting small abnormalities that can sometimes be missed with other exams. It should be noted, however, that unlike conventional mammography, MRI is unable to image small calcifications, which can often be associated with early-stage breast cancer. In patients with a newly diagnosed breast cancer, MRI is extremely useful in determining the full extent of the cancer in one breast, and to identify potential tumor in the other breast. MRI is also useful in determining whether breast cancer has spread to the chest wall, and to detect cancer recurrences in women who have already been treated for breast cancer with lumpectomy and radiation therapy (breast conserving surgery). Breast MRI is excellent at imaging the augmented breast, including both the breast implant itself and the breast tissue s
