Breast Cancer Surgery - The Basics

The breast cancer surgery is done to make sure that the cancerous tissue is removed and make sure that the breast is saved by removing the malignant tissue. The aim is to remove the unwanted growth of the tumor while it is localized which means that the tumor has not spread itself throughout the breast.

As far as types of breast cancer surgery goes there are several types of breast surgery and the doctor in consultation with you will decide the best surgery possible. Mostly the decision to go with one type of surgery versus the other is taken because of the medical needs. There are various factors that decide what surgery is the best course of action like the size of the tumor, the location of the tumor and the type of breast cancer.

In most ideal case the surgeon will recommend the lumpectomy which means that the cancerous tissue is removed along with the surrounding normal tissue to stop the growth of the tissue in its tracks.

Then there is partial mastectomy whereby a larger part of the breast tissue is removed along with the surrounding normal tissue. The third kind is the mastectomy where the entire breast is removed. This is done to prevent the cancer from spreading to the lymph nodes. In some cases the breast along with the lymph nodes are removed and this is known as modified radial mastectomy.

In all the cases there is follow up radiation therapy to treat the removing breast tissue and also there is post recuperative recovery period stay ion the hospital for some period of time. That period of time is two or three days in case of complete mastectomies.

The breast cancer surgery can be followed up by the breast re constructive surgery which is known as augmentation mammaplasty or in simple terms the breast augmentation.

Make sure to consult your surgeon for any side effects because of the follow up radiation therapy. Also if you need to undergo re constructive surgery then make sure that you get medical advice as there may be cases where re constructive surgery may not be possible immediately.



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