Breast Clip Marker Placement in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow

A breast clip, also called a marker, is a very small piece of body-safe metal placed in the breast to mark an exact spot. It comes in different shapes, such as a tiny coil, ribbon or clip. It is put in through a needle like the one used for a biopsy, so no stitches are needed.

The marker does nothing to the tissue. It is a landmark only. It shows on a mammogram and usually on a breast ultrasound, so a radiologist can tell later where a biopsy was taken.

A marker is placed when the exact spot may need to be found again. Many biopsies need no marker at all. When one is used, it is usually placed at the end of a breast biopsy, but it can also be placed on a separate short visit, for example once a result is known.

• After a biopsy of a small lesion, because a small lesion can be hard to find afterwards, or may be largely removed by the sampling itself.
• Before treatment that may shrink the area, such as chemotherapy given before surgery, when a tumour can become hard to see on scans.
• When more than one area is sampled, so that each can be told apart on later scans.
• When surgery is planned, so that the surgeon or radiologist can find the area, sometimes with wire localisation shortly before the operation.
• When an underarm gland has been sampled and needs to be found again at surgery.

Your doctor decides whether a marker is useful for you, based on the finding, the biopsy result and any treatment that may follow.

Yes, in general. Breast markers are designed to stay in the body permanently and are made of metals that the body tolerates well. Most people never notice theirs. It is not removed unless a surgeon takes it out as part of an operation on the marked area.

You should not feel it, and it does not limit your daily activities. It does not stop you having mammograms or other scans in future. On a mammogram it appears as a small bright spot, so tell any radiologist that you have one and keep the report that mentions it.

Placing a marker carries the same small risks as a biopsy: bruising, soreness, a little bleeding and, rarely, infection. Occasionally a marker lies a little away from the exact spot, or shifts slightly along the needle path as the breast is compressed. A mammogram after placement records where it lies, and the report notes any difference so the surgeon or radiologist can allow for it.