St Vincent’s Hospital leads Magseed and Magtrace breast cancer technology

A Toowoomba private hospital is leading the way in breast cancer surgery, with a simpler, less painful and more accurate way of locating and removing breast cancer.

Breast cancer patients at a Toowoomba private hospital can now access a more comfortable, non-radioactive surgery option, resulting in higher precision of the cancer removal with less invasive materials.

The new magnetic technology of Magseed and Magtrace allows flexible pre-surgery administration, improving accuracy and precision in locating and removing tumours or lymph nodes, reducing the need for additional surgeries and unnecessary removal of healthy breast tissue.

After more than 30 years of working as a breast surgeon in Toowoomba, St Vincent’s senior surgeon Dr Eric Donaldson said the technology is going a long way to improving outcomes of patients.

Breast surgeons Dr Ian Ng (front) and Dr Eric Donaldson with clinical nurse Samantha Harriman show the Magseed and Magtrace technology at St Vincent's Hospital, Friday, February 14, 2025. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Magtrace, an injection of “graphite” nanoparticles, replaces the traditionally used radioactive blue dye, which requires a radiologist to assist with administration, known to be painful for the patients, he said.

Magtrace can simply be injected into the affected breast by the doctor, and follows or “highlights” the lymph nodes, tracing the course a migrating cancer would take, he said.

It can be both visually seen and also measured via a Sentimag, a probe which senses the magnetic material in Magtrace and essentially “acts like a metal detector”, St Vincent’s senior surgeon Dr Ian Ng said.

It means doctors are able to monitor, locate and operate on tumours with much a higher precision than before, he said.

Drs Ian Ng and Eric Donaldson performing first Magseed case.

This technology, used with Magseed, a rice-sized surgical-grade steel, also means breast cancer patients no longer require a wirehook marker inserted into their breast on the day of surgery.

Replacing the wire, the Magseed can be inserted in the weeks leading up to the surgery, marking any suspicious lesions or lymph nodes for monitoring or for removal.

While Magseed has been used in Queensland for the last few years, St Vincent’s is the first to offer Magtrace in Toowoomba.

“Combining the technologies makes this the most precise and advanced technology that we have for breast localisation,” Dr Ng said.