Eastern Health says it’s now offering an innovative new technique for the surgical treatment of breast cancer.

The treatment is being offered at the Dr. G.B. Cross Memorial Hospital in Clarenville for patients with clinical early-stage breast cancer.

The technique is made possible through the Sentimag system, which uses magnetic particles to identify sentinel lymph nodes—those are the first lymph nodes to which cancer cells are most likely to spread.

The procedure is performed to accurately stage the armpit area at the time of breast cancer surgery.

It avoids more invasive procedures, and significantly reduces side effects like swelling, lymphedema and problems with the shoulder.

General Surgeon Dr. Ryno Verster says he’s been pleased with the results with nine surgeries completed to-date. Dr. Verster expects to perform 30 to 35 of the procedures annually.

The Sentimag system was originally developed in Europe and approved by Health Canada in March of 2018.