Your Treatment
Breast cancer surgery involves the surgical removal of a breast tumour and a portion of the surrounding normal tissue to prevent its spread to the other parts of the body. Breast cancer develops from the uncontrolled growth of abnormal breast cells. It is caused due to a genetic abnormality, which can be inherited, or can occur due to aging and wear and tear of the body.
Breast cancer surgery involves the surgical removal of a tumour to prevent the spread of the cancer to other parts of the body. The surgical procedure to remove the tumour depends on the size and type of cancer.. Whilst is is often possible to remove the cancer and preserve the breast, this is sometimes not possible and a mastectomy may be necessary.
Breast reduction, also known as reduction mammoplasty, is a surgical procedure employed to remove excess fat, tissue and skin from the breasts. It is indicated to reduce the size and volume of large, heavy and drooping breasts for those suffering from the pain and discomfort of heavy breasts. It is also done to correct breasts that are of two different sizes. Bilateral breast reduction refers to the reduction of both breasts, while unilateral breast reduction refers to the reduction of only one breast.
Mastectomy is a surgery for the removal of breast tissue affected by cancer. It usually involves removal of the breast tissue, nipple and areola. Skin-sparing mastectomy involves the removal of all of the breast tissue including the nipple, yet preserving as much of the breast skin as possible. It is not recommended in inflammatory breast cancer.
Prepectoral reconstruction is a relatively new innovation in implant reconstruction. The breast tissue is removed and the implant is put on top of the muscle in a capsule or hammock made of mesh rather than under muscle. This reconstruction has the improvement of no animation of the muscle during exercise, no loss of muscle strength or discomfort but has the down side of reduced padding over the implant which means it is more visible under the skin.
This is a variant of skin-sparing mastectomy where the nipple and areola or areola alone are preserved as well as the breast skin. Nipple-sparing mastectomy is recommended for removing tumours that are not present near the nipple-areola region. I usually require a 2 cm distance between the nipple and the cancer.
The decision to have a prophylactic mastectomy is a major and irreversible one. I have put together some information that you should have before you make the decision to make sure that you are as fully informed as possible.
This is a wide local excision through a reduction pattern. Benefits: This allows a patient to obtain a more youthful breast profile and a smaller breast whilst removing the cancer. If you have ever wanted a breast reduction, this might be the time to achieve this.
A breast lift or mastopexy is a cosmetic breast surgical procedure to lift and reshape the sagging breasts. It can also be performed in combination with a wide local excision to remove cancer and leave the breast with a more pleasing appearance than before surgery.
Lumpectomy, also called wide local excision or breast conserving surgery is a surgical procedure to remove a malignant tumour and removes a lump along with some of the surrounding normal tissue from a woman’s breast. Lumpectomy is a type of breast conservation or preservation surgery.
Mastectomy is a surgery performed to treat or prevent breast cancer by removing the breast tissue. Simple or total mastectomy involves the removal of the entire breast tissue (along with the areola and nipples), but the muscles are left intact. Simple mastectomy can be indicated when the cancer is large or widespread, for cancer prevention, patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (noninvasive breast cancer), Paget's disease of the breast (rare cancer in the skin of or surrounding the nipple) and recurrent breast cancer.
Lymph nodes are oval-shaped glands that contain cells that defend the body against foreign substances. They are part of the lymphatic system and are located in different parts of the body such as the neck, armpits, behind the ears, chest, abdomen and groin. A sentinel lymph node is considered the first node that drains a primary cancer . Sentinel lymph node biopsy is a procedure to remove the sentinel lymph node closest to the cancerous organ to examine it for malignancy.
Breast biopsy is a procedure in which a small sample of breast tissue containing suspicious breast growth is removed and examined in the laboratory for the presence of cancer. Needle-localized breast biopsy involves the surgical removal of the entire mass of abnormal tissue for analysis. It is indicated when abnormal findings are seen during mammography but cannot be felt on physical examination.
Lipofilling or lipomodelling is relatively new to Australia but it has been used in Europe and the USA as an adjunct to breast cancer surgery for the last 15 years. Lipomodelling uses the patient's own fat cells to replace volume or correct contour defects after breast reconstruction, or to fill defects in the breast following breast-conserving surgery. It can be used on its own or as an adjunct to other reconstruction techniques.
Now that your physical treatment is over, you will enter a new phase of your recovery. Finishing your treatments is only one step to your recovery. You are now entering the next stage of your recovery which is just as important but a little less dramatic.
Coming soon
Scar massage has several important functions:
- It promotes collagen remodeling by applying pressure to the scars.
- It helps decrease itching.
- It provides moisture and pliability to the area.
How is mastectomy different from lumpectomy?
While mastectomy removes the entire breast tissue, lumpectomy is a breast-conserving surgery that involves the removal of only the tumour, along with a surrounding margin of healthy tissue.
