Lumpectomy: How is the procedure and what are the risks?

Medical Video: Breast Cancer Surgery (2009)

If the patient has been diagnosed with breast cancer, chances are he will get treatment options between lumpectomy or mastectomy. Mastectomy usually removes breast tissue while lumpectomy is an operation that will only remove the tumor and healthy tissue. Lumpectomy can provide more aesthetic results than mastectomy.

Surgical removal of breast cancer

Lumpectomy is referred to as breast conservation surgery because this operation is performed to remove all cancers and leave healthy body tissue by keeping it as much as possible.

The amount of tissue removed in breast conservation surgery varies depending on the size of the tumor in the patient. The effect of conventional surgery is to leave a small wound on the body or lose a quarter of the size of the breast. Therefore, after the surgical removal of the tumor reconstruction plastic surgery is needed.

The general terms used to describe operations include:

Wedge resection
Quadrantectomy
Partial mastectomy

Lumpectomy can work well in women who have large breast size and have small tumors. They can receive radiation therapy. Lumpectomy can be done by women who do not have complicated factors in their bodies such as lupus and multicentre diseases. Multicentre disease is cancer that is spread in several breast quadrants. In this case, a mastectomy is needed to remove the tissue that is already too large.

Radiation pairing

Lumpectomy combined with radiation to make sure other cancer cells will be removed. Radiation is given every day for five to six weeks in the recovery period after the surgery is complete.

The first push to lift the breast as a whole shows that a combination of lumpectomy and radiation is considered effective as a mastectomy. In one study it was mentioned that women with small-sized cancers and treated with a combination of radiation lumpectomy can only live for 20 years.

What is the process of lumpectomy?

On the day of the surgery, the patient will wear surgical clothes at the hospital. If the tumor size is too small, the doctor will visualize the body part that will be operated on with a mammogram or USG. Then the doctor will use a surgical marker to mark the various parts of the body affected by the tumor. The patient will be taken to the operating room and given several medications to relax. Most women do not need general anesthesia to undergo this operation.

Based on the procedure of time for surgery, within 15 to 45 minutes the doctor will remove the tumor and tissue cells around the growth of the tumor. Usually the doctor inserts a knife in the armpit or breast.

Disposal in the form of a rubber tube is used to prevent fluid buildup from the tumor being dissected. The water channel used for liquid flows slowly and after that the liquid is then removed.

The sentinel biopsy number may be needed to remove lymph fluid, but the procedure will be carried out according to the type of cancer suffered. Treatment for lumpectomy can be done on an outpatient basis, but if too many nodes are taken it is possible the patient must be hospitalized.

What happens after surgery for breast cancer removal?

After this appointment process, the patient will be transferred to the recovery room. Patients will also be given instructions after carrying out breast cancer removal surgery, such as changing the bandage, managing the drainage for patients, signs of possible infection, and so on.

Recovery

First make sure to set the time for rest, take the medication prescribed by your doctor and drink lots of water. If needed, the patient can use a bath sponge to prevent the affected area from being exposed to water.

A special sports bra must be worn day and night until the surgical wound heals. Pain and numbness in the area of the former surgery is normal even if there is pain, it should be checked immediately. Some breast cancer operations usually cut the nerves in the breast so that when the wound heals the patient will feel itching.

Re-excision

After surgery, the tumor and tissue that has been removed will be sent to the pathology for examination. It usually takes one week to get results from tumor research and tissue that has been removed.

Sometimes cancer cells are found around the breast. If the cancer cell tissue is still left behind, the doctor will remove the breast cancer with a larger size so that the whole cancer cells can be removed. The process of reappearing cancer cells is called re-excision.

The risk of breast cancer removal surgery

Surgery can leave a dent effect on the breast so that the shape and size are not good. This condition can be corrected by plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons will advise patients to wait for a year after breast cancer surgery.

Another risk that occurs is loss of feeling in the breast. This effect may be lost on its own or may be permanent. Some cases show that the shape and size that is not good on the breast is usually caused by a treatment of mastectomy.

Lumpectomy is able to provide excellent opportunities in the recovery and survival of patients. Both patients and doctors can discuss any situation that occurs in the patient so that the patient will know that the choice of conservation surgery is the right decision.