title: Evaluation of office ultrasound usage among Australian and New Zealand breast surgeons.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Surgeon performed ultrasound (US) is being increasingly embraced by breast surgeons worldwide as an integral part of patient assessment. The extent of its application within Australia and New Zealand is not well documented. The present study aimed to evaluate its current usage patterns and to determine suitable future training models.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online survey was sent to members of Breast Surgeons of Australia and New Zealand (BreastSurgANZ) between July and September 2010, with emphases on practice demographics, access to US equipment, usage, biopsy patterns, and training.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 126 surveys sent, 59 were returned. The majority of respondents were metropolitan based (64 %), worked in both public and private sectors (71 %), and practiced endocrine or general surgery (85 %), as well as breast surgery. A preponderance of surgeons had access to equipment (63 %), performed at least 1 US monthly (63 %), but did not perform regular guided biopsies. Rural practice did not affect access or usage patterns. Most respondents underwent structured US training (73 %), which was associated with greater US and biopsy usage, biopsy complexity, intraoperative applications, and cross discipline applications (p < 0.03). Most surgeons favored a structured training program for future trainees (83 %).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of breast surgeons from Australia and New Zealand have adopted office US to varying degrees. Geographic variation did not lead to access inequity and variation in scanning patterns. Formal US training may result in a wider scope of clinical applications by increasing operator confidence and is the preferred model within a specialist breast surgical curriculum.
authors: Breast and Endocrine Surgery Unit, Maroondah Hospital, Eastern Health, Davey Drive, Ringwood East, Melbourne, VIC 3135, Australia. mlaw.besurg@gmail.com
authors: Michael T
authors: MT
authors: Law
authors: James
authors: J
authors: Kollias
authors: Ian
authors: I
authors: Bennett
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D009520:New Zealand; D010819:Physician's Role; D016217:Ultrasonography, Mammary / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
references: Surg Innov. 2008 Mar;15(1):52-8
references: 18407929
references: Arch Surg. 1998 May;133(5):504-7; discussion 507-8
references: 9605912
references: Ann Surg Oncol. 2009 Jun;16(6):1629-36
references: 19357925
references: Am Surg. 1997 Aug;63(8):716-9
references: 9247440
references: Eur J Surg Oncol. 2003 Mar;29(2):139-42
references: 12633556
references: Surg Clin North Am. 2011 Feb;91(1):33-58
references: 21184900
references: J Am Coll Surg. 2005 Oct;201(4):586-97
references: 16183499
references: West J Emerg Med. 2011 Feb;12(1):96-9
references: 21691479
references: J Am Coll Surg. 2008 Nov;207(5):763-6
references: 18954791
references: Eur J Surg Oncol. 2001 Nov;27(7):611-6
references: 11669586
references: World J Surg. 2010 Mar;34(3):549-54
references: 20054545
references: Am J Surg. 2006 Apr;191(4):489-96
references: 16531142
references: Can Assoc Radiol J. 2003 Jun;54(3):155-9
references: 12866240