What is Breast Surgery and Reconstructive Breast Surgery ?

What is Breast Surgery?

Breast surgery is a subspecialty in which the surgeon specializes in treating all diseases of the breast, particularly the most recent surgical techniques in breast cancer treatment. We acknowledge that a woman's breasts can influence how she feels emotionally and physically about herself.

> Lumpectomy

A lumpectomy, also known as a wide local excision, is a surgical procedure that removes breast cancer along with a boundary (margin) of normal, healthy breast tissue. The goal is to preserve as much of your breast as possible while removing the cancer completely.

> Mastectomy

A mastectomy involves removing as much breast tissue as possible, including the skin and nipple. A mastectomy may be recommended in the following situations: when the cancer has spread to a large portion of the breast, when there is cancer in more than one area of the breast or if you are suffering from inflammatory breast cancer.

> Lymph node dissection

Lymph node dissection is the removal of numerous lymph nodes from under the arm. A pathologist then examines these for cancer cells. The quantity of lymph nodes removed varies from patient to patient. This reduces the risk of side effects while not reducing survival.

Reconstructive breast surgery

The goal of breast reconstruction is to achieve the most natural-looking breast shape possible while also attempting to match the breast on the opposite side in size, shape, and position.

> A reconstruction done at the same time as the mastectomy is called immediate reconstruction.

> Patients may also have this surgery done at some point in the future, called delayed reconstruction.

For some patients undergoing a lumpectomy, reconstruction to keep both breasts looking similar is called oncoplastic surgery. This combines breast cancer surgery with plastic surgery techniques, reducing the likelihood of a dent or significant difference between the breasts. The type of surgery recommended by our healthcare team will be determined by many factors, including the type of cancer you have, how advanced it is, your overall health, and your personal preferences. Based on your condition, surgery could be part of your overall treatment plan or the only treatment you require. Breast reconstruction does not increase the likelihood of the cancer recurrence.