The clinical value of preoperative wire localization of breast lesions by magnetic resonance imaging--a multicenter study.

To evaluate the clinical value of MRI guided preoperative wire localization of clinically and mammographically occult lesions of the breast. In a multicenter study, we evaluated 132 preoperative MRI guided localizations. Median lesion size evaluated by MRI prior to wire localization was 9mm. MRI guided localization was successfully performed in 96.2% of cases. Median wire deviation from the lesion was 0 (0-10) mm. Moderate bleeding with no further treatment required occurred in three patients. We conclude that MRI guided preoperative wire localization is a safe and accurate procedure in cases of clinically and mammographically occult lesions of the breast.