The mammogram at the Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG), about a decade old, has been out of order again since last Thursday.
This was confirmed to "Vijesti" by the largest Montenegrin health institution, after several patients were returned from breast examinations in recent days, even though they were scheduled as priority oncology patients. Some of the patients had previously waited for months for this examination, and the same machine had previously been in the ward for nine days.
"We would like to inform you that on Thursday, March 20th, a new mammogram malfunction occurred. We would like to remind you that KCCG currently has one, ten-year-old mammogram," the response reads.
The KCCG explained that a regular service of the device was scheduled for today, which means that examinations would be suspended until the service is completed.
"We expect that the authorized service technician will fix the malfunction as soon as possible and that inspections on this device will continue as planned," they said.
The KCCG also emphasized that the current malfunction of the device did not put into question the quality of patient care, especially since mammography is not an emergency and is the only diagnostic method, as well as due to the fact that in such situations, after the malfunction is fixed, the medical staff calls the scheduled patients and makes additional efforts to ensure the scan in a very short time, which, they claim, they will do this time as well.
The digital mammogram used for breast scans has been out of order for years. In 2023 alone, authorized repairers were paid 120.000 euros to repair the device, which is the same price as a new device, according to specifications from the Montenegrin Electronic Public Procurement (CEJN) website.
The digital mammogram that was put into operation at the KCCG in May 2015 was donated to the institution by the International Atomic Energy Agency from Vienna, and was worth around 800.000 euros.
The KCCG explained that occasional malfunctions on this device are understandable due to the age of the device, as well as the fact that around 40 examinations are performed on it daily.
Health institutions in the country have 12 analog and six digital mammograms, and there are three in Podgorica - one digital and one analog in the Podgorica Health Center and one in the KCCG.
The Podgorica Health Center recently told "Vijesti" that there is no waiting time for mammography at that health institution, but patients with a referral are admitted immediately or have to wait a few days because certain days of the cycle are most favorable for the examination. Around 35 women were examined at the Health Center on a weekly basis at the end of last year.
Mammography is a non-invasive, X-ray method of examining the breasts, which uses a specially built X-ray machine (mammograph), with a specially constructed X-ray tube that emits low-energy rays.
It is mainly performed on women over 40 years of age, but can be done earlier if necessary.
Breast cancer screening examinations are also performed on mammograms at the KCCG.
In Montenegro, about 400 patients are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, and this disease is the most common cause of death in the female population. According to GLOBOCAN estimates for 2022, the number of new cases of breast cancer in women in Montenegro was 416 (a total of 2.739 new cases of cancer in both sexes), and the largest number of patients was registered in the age group between 55 and 74 years. In the same year, 154 women died of breast cancer, which accounts for 10 percent of all deaths from malignant diseases.
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