Breast Conserving Surgery (Lumpectomy)
Surgery to remove the area of cancer in the breast is called breast conserving surgery or lumpectomy. The surgeon takes away the tumour and a border of healthy tissue around the tumour to preserve as much healthy breast tissue as possible. Lumpectomy is performed on patients with early stage breast cancer, whose tumor is small or localized.
Nipple and Skin-Sparing Mastectomy.
During this operation, inner breast tissue is removed but the nipple, areola and skin remain, allowing a better cosmetic result with reconstruction. At the same time with the surgery the immediate breast reconstruction is available for our patients. Our surgeons combine oncologic and plastic surgical techniques in the same procedure to remove the tumor and restructure the breast.
Simple (Total) Mastectomy
Surgery to remove the the entire breast, nipple, skin and at least one lymph node for biopsy is called simple (total) mastectomy. This surgery is performed when the tumor is too large relative to breast size or when there are multiple tumors in the breast. Prophylactic mastectomy is a consideration for women with genetic mutations of the BRCA1, 2 genes, for treatment and/or prevention of breast cancer.
Modified Radical Mastectomy (Total Mastectomy With Axillary Lymph Node Dissection)
Surgery to remove the the entire breast including nipple, areola, skin and most of the lymph nodes in the arm pit (axillary lymph nodes). It also removes the chest wall muscles under the breast This is the most extensive version of mastectomy.
Intraoperative Lymphoscintigraphy (Lymphatic Mapping) for Breast Cancer
Using lymphoscintigraphy during the surgery provide valuable information to surgeons in the operating room and helping them to find the sentinel node. There is a serious advantage in the detection of sentinel lymph nodes using lymphocytography and gamma counter compared to sentinel lymph node biopsy using only blue dye.
For this exam, a radioactive tracer will be injected into the breast tissue and during surgery, the nuclear medicine doctor will use a gamma camera that detects radiation to find the sentinel node. After that the surgeon remove the node and send it to the lab for pathology. According to the result of the pathology test, surgeon is deciding whether other lymph nodes should be removed or not.