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SUMMARYA rare breast tumour, an osteogenic sarcoma, is described and the literature relative to osseous neoplasia in the breast is briefly reviewed.

The pattern of preoperative investigation was audited in 256 patients entering hospital for elective surgery over a 12-week period. During the initial 6 weeks (phase one), no tests are relevant and to minimise unnecessary expenditure. Methods and patientsThe pattern of requests of the five most commonly performed investigations was examined. The investigations were: full blood count (FBC), urea and electrolytes (U&E), blood glucose, chest radiograph (CR) and electrocardiogram (ECG). In phase one of the study, the established practice in requesting these preoperative investigations was analysed. All patients admitted to the hospital for elective surgery over a 6-week period under the care of the four general surgeons were studied. Patients undergoing day-case surgery and emergencies were excluded. The preoperative investigations performed on each patient were recorded on the evening of surgery; each investigation was documented as normal or abnormal and it was recorded whether an abnormal result had induced an alteration in clinical management. Each investigation was then classified as being either 'indicated' or 'not indicated' according to criteria derived from the literature (1-6).