Surgery
Mastectomy
Lumpectomy
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
Breast Reconstruction
Axillary Node Dissection
Informed Consent
Radiation Therapy
Treatment Decisions
Additional Therapy
Treatment Team
This procedure removes the tumor plus a surrounding rim of normal breast tissue. Occasionally the skin and the lining of the chest muscle below the tumor will need to be removed to obtain clear margins. A margin of normal tissue must be removed to insure the tumor has been completely removed. (A 5mm margin of normal tissue is optimal, but a 2mm margin is mandatory to decrease the risk of local recurrence after radiation therapy.) It is followed by approximately six weeks of radiation therapy.
ADVANTAGES:
• Breast is not removed.
• There is no difference in cure rates or recurrence rates between lumpectomy and mastectomy.
• The post-operative complication rates are a little lower with lumpectomy than with mastectomy and reconstruction.
DISADVANTAGES:
• Since the majority of the breast tissue is left and the entire breast needs to be treated, radiation therapy is always needed after lumpectomy.
• Sometimes there is a positive or close margin after lumpectomy and a second operation may be needed to remove more breast tissue and obtain a clear margin.
