Breast Cancer Health Center

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Breast Cancer - Surgery

Most people with breast cancer have surgery to remove the cancer. In most cases, a few of the lymph nodes under the arm are also removed and examined under the microscope to see whether cancer cells are present. This is called sentinel lymph node biopsy. When nearly all lymph nodes under the arm are removed, it is called axillary lymph node dissection. You are less likely to have arm swelling (lymphedema) after a sentinel node biopsy than an axillary dissection.

Even if your doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of your surgery, you may be given treatment with radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or hormone therapy after surgery to try to destroy any cancer cells that may be left. This is called adjuvant therapy.

Breast Cancer: Should I Have Breast-Conserving Surgery or a Mastectomy for Early-Stage Breast Cancer?

Surgery that allows you to keep your breast

Procedures include:

Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) , which is the removal of the lump in the breast along with some of the tissue around it. This is sometimes called excisional biopsy or wide excision. It is usually followed by radiation therapy to the remaining breast tissue.
Partial or segmental mastectomy, which is the removal of the area of the breast that contains cancer as well as some of the breast tissue around the tumor and the lining over the chest muscles below the tumor. Some of the lymph nodes under the arm are also removed and examined under the microscope (axillary lymph node dissection or sentinel lymph node biopsy). In most cases, radiation therapy follows.

For stages I and II breast cancer, breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) with radiation therapy has the same survival rate as mastectomy and some of the same side effects.²⁸

If you plan to have a lumpectomy, talk to your doctor about what your breast might look like after the surgery.

Removal of the breast (mastectomy)

Mastectomy procedures include:

Total or simple mastectomy, which is the removal of the whole breast.
Modified radical mastectomy, which is the removal of the breast, some of the lymph nodes under the arm, and sometimes part of the chest wall muscles.
Skin-sparing mastectomy, which leaves most of the skin that was over the breast, except for the nipple and the areola. This type of mastectomy removes about as much breast tissue as a modified radical mastectomy, but leaves less scar tissue and a reconstructed breast that seems more natural.
Radical mastectomy (Halsted radical mastectomy), which is the removal of the breast, chest muscles, and all of the lymph nodes under the arm (axillary lymph node dissection). For many years, radical mastectomy was the most common operation for breast cancer. This surgery is rarely used now because it does not improve survival or risk for recurrence when compared with other surgical treatments.

Breast reconstruction

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WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: May 28, 2010

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.