Radiation Tattoos?

[RadtionVacation]

I'm doing a radiation oncology rotation right now and the place where I am rotating put tattoos during simulation. Do all places still do this? It seems a little archaic!

Also, how do you decide exactly where to put the tattoos? Is it based on where the team initially decides the isocenter will be? For example, one of the residents today saw a patient with graves orbitopathy who will be treated with XRT, where would where would those tattoos go?

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[pele_06]

I'm doing a radiation oncology rotation right now and the place where I am rotating put tattoos during simulation. Do all places still do this? It seems a little archaic!

Also, how do you decide exactly where to put the tattoos? Is it based on where the team initially decides the isocenter will be? For example, one of the residents today saw a patient with graves orbitopathy who will be treated with XRT, where would where would those tattoos go?

The placement of the tattoes is based on departmental policies and procedures and depends on the site. Usually, it is placed in areas where the threapists/dosimetrists can easily use surface landmarks as a guide in finding them.

And the isocentre does not always correlate with the tattoo placement in the planning stage. For example, if there is a fungating disease, you can't possible tattoo that area. But you can tattoo another area, and then the therapist/dosimetrist will just make a shift from there to reach the iso (in the fungating area).

Some patients like peads are not tattooed in my department. Nothing over the clavicle also (they will be in a mask so no need for tattoes).

 

[OTN]

We do it from time to time with patients receiving non-H+N IMRT (breast, etc) if they don't mind.

It helps if you call them "microdots" instead of tattoos, BTW.

 

[Wallachia]

they are helpful when you get patients from other centers and can't get their previous treatment data in a timely fashion

 

[medgator]

they are helpful when you get patients from other centers and can't get their previous treatment data in a timely fashion

In the age of IMRT and 3DCRT, that's probably becoming less true unless it's something palliative.