Coffee karma
Blue Bell breast cancer patient receives revolutionary BioZorb device after letting location be deciding factor
Blue Bell breast cancer patient receives revolutionary BioZorb device after letting location be deciding factor.
EAST NORRITON >> Carolyn Kelly credited Wawa and its enormously popular coffee for leading her to renowned breast surgeon Dr. Jennifer Simmons.
“When I went to my primary physician and she gave me the script for my mammogram she mentioned that there were three different places I could go, and Einstein Medical Center Montgomery Women’s Center was one of them. She said, ‘it’s right across from the Wawa’ and I said, ‘say no more,’ “Kelly remembered, laughing.
“I can go to Wawa for coffee and then get my mammogram. It may sound crazy, but that’s how I ended up in Dr. Simmons’ office, and I’m very grateful that I did. I’m very thankful to the Wawa for being situated where it was.” Simmons who operates at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, is one of the first breast surgeons in the area to use a revolutionary implantable device that improves the cosmetic and overall outcome in breast cancer surgery.
In May, 2017, Kelly underwent the second of two surgeries. At that time, Dr. Simmons inserted the BioZorb device, which was created to help clinicians identify tissue excision sites for subsequent medical procedures and followup imaging, according to the company.
Manufactured by Focal Therapeutics, the BioZorb marker designates the surgical site of tissue removal in three dimensions. The marker itself consists of an open framework structure featuring six titanium marker clips arranged in a fixed fashion to assist visualization on clinical imaging.
BioZorb is put into place at the time of surgical tissue removal and is eventually absorbed by the body over time. The spiralshaped implant fills the lumpectomy cavity supporting the breast tissue so the tissue doesn’t sink in, creating a far better cosmetic outcome.
“During surgery when you remove the cancer and leave all the normal breast tissue behind it can be quite deforming,” Simmons said. “The goal of preserving breast is actually to preserve something that resembles the native breast. When it doesn’t, the patient has a constant reminder that they had breast cancer. So, if you’re avoiding a mastectomy and saving the breast we want to give them a worthwhile result. BioZorb looks like a plastic spiral and serves as a space filler. It works as a lattice, a three dimensional structure that supports the tissue, and fills in the space over time. So that, combined with some movement of the surrounding tissue to allow for coverage of this implant, really preserves the cosmesis of the breast.”
Kelly, who lives in Blue Bell, said she never doubted her decision to receive the BioZorb because she trusted Simmons’ skills implicitly.
“I didn’t know anything about the BioZorb, which I think is about the size of a walnut, but Dr. Simmons explained everything very well, and I said, ‘great. Let’s do it.’ It helped me avoid a mastectomy, so that was great. Dr Simmons told me I’d probably be able to feel the BioZorb ‘lump’ afterward but I never did. I still don’t know where it is, honestly.”
Gradually, the BioZorb implant dissolves, but the titanium marker clips remain and mark the spot to help the radiation oncologist
see exactly where the tumor was removed so they can deliver more precise radiation treatment to the lumpectomy site after surgery, which reduces radiation exposure to the healthy surrounding tissue.
“The patient has an excellent cosmetic result, but on top of that it limits the amount of radiation that the patient gets afterwards,” Simmons explained. “Because now the target for the radiation is this implant rather than how they used to target by using the seroma, which is a fluid filled cavity. Your body will fill any empty space with fluid, so women got fairly large seromas after their surgery because we weren’t really closing the cavity down. So women got more radiation and that leads to more scarring. This really changed that and now they have a better cosmesis because of healing that space and they have less adhesions and less scarring afterward.”
Kelly, who works at the Sports Unlimited warehouse in Hatfield, said she was aware that the BioZorb would continue to be of benefit during her following oncology visits when she would receive radiation.
“I knew I was going for radiation treatments, and the BioZorb helps with that,” she said. “I feel as if the entire situation turned into a best case scenario.”