Voluson v730 expert

As previously described, [^99mTc] Tc-Nanocolloid (Nanocoll^®; GE Healthcare, Saluggia, Italy) was injected into the myometrium guided by transvaginal ultrasound imaging 18 to 24 hours prior to surgery, with the patient awake after the application of local anesthesia [12 (link)]. The volume injected ranged from 4 to 8 mL, and the dose was of 3 to 6 MCi [14 ]. The Aspen (Siemens-Acuson Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA) or Voluson (Voluson v730Expert; General Electric, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) ultrasound imaging devices, equipped with a 4–9 MHz 2D vaginal probe with an attached needle guide, were used for the injection. In an anteverted uterus, a 20-gauge biopsy needle (Gallini Medical Devices, Mantova, Italy) crossed the anterior wall to inject half of the volume in the posterior wall. The remaining volume of radiotracer was injected into the anterior myometrial wall (Fig. 1). Once the radiotracer was administered, the needle was flushed with saline solution. In a retroverted uterus, the injection of radiotracer was first performed into the anterior uterine wall and secondly into the posterior uterine wall [12 (link)]. All the procedures were performed by experienced gynecological sonographers together with nuclear medicine physicians. Tolerance to the procedure was assessed using a visual analog scale (range 0–10; no pain to severe pain).