Voices

Ready to master the MagTotal approach? Dr. Karakatsanis reveals his top tips

Faster operating times, low re-excision rates and physician satisfaction across the board - is ‘MagTotal’ the future for combined lesion localisation and SLNB?

That’s the common thread of a recent Level III RCT paper in JAMA Surgery, which indicates the vast benefits of switching to a complete magnetic approach. 

Speaking to a group of London-based clinicians in this video, Dr. Andreas Karakatsanis of Uppsala University explains the evolution of the ‘MagTotal’ concept, the best method for performing the procedure, and the key findings from the study, including:

  • The notable logistical inefficiencies of wires and radioisotope in the treatment pathway.
  • How ‘MagTotal’ improves this, plus advice for positioning the seed and tracer.
  • How re-excision rates remain low for Magseed, regardless of operator learning curve.
  • Why MagTotal is significantly quicker for localisation, time to excision and overall operating time, creating opportunities to treat more patients.
  • How provisional data on MagTotal is also showing health economic benefits.
“[MagTotal] localisation is accurate and faster, and results in shorter theatre times. Familiarisation with the technique yields potential for more precision and it is easy to implement in different settings”Dr. Andreas Karakatsanis