Mammograms halted at a Raleigh radiology office following problems with images

A Raleigh radiology practice has stopped doing mammography at one of its offices after a review found problems with some of its images.

The Raleigh Radiology Blue Ridge Road office lost accreditation to do mammography, but its director of breast imaging said the office is working to have permission reinstated.

In a letter to patients, Dr. Laura O. Thomas wrote that the the American College of Radiology reviewed a “small sample” of mammograms performed at the Blue Ridge office over about two years, starting Nov. 7, 2017, as part of its accreditation review.

“The review related only to the technical quality of the mammography images generated,” Thomas wrote. A majority of the cases were acceptable and the American College of Radiology and the FDA, she wrote, did not indicate that cancer or any other disease was overlooked.

She said patients would also receive a letter from the FDA.

A spokeswoman for Raleigh Radiology did not respond to emailed questions about how many patients received letters, how many could expect a letter from the FDA, or how the office planned to correct the problems.

Raleigh Radiology has a notice and video about the suspension on its website.

Mammography facilities are inspected every year and are accredited every three years, according to the FDA website.

A spokesman for the American College of Radiology, the accrediting agency, said in an email that the Mammography Quality Standards Act establishes criteria for how the images should look.

Blue Ridge office is open and is performing other radiology services, and other Raleigh Radiology offices continue to do mammograms, Thomas said in her letter.