Breast Surgery

Do I need breast surgery for benign tumors?

Benign (noncancerous) growths such as cysts seldom need surgery unless they get large and painful. However, your Southwest Surgical Associates provider may recommend breast surgery to remove benign growths such as:

• Fibroadenomas
• Intraductal papillomas
• Lobular carcinoma in situ
• Atypical hyperplasia

These tumors can turn into breast cancer.

What malignant tumors does breast surgery remove?

Breast cancer occurs when cellular DNA changes, causing cells to grow out of control and develop into a tumor.

The two most common breast cancers include:

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)

DCIS, the most common type of breast cancer, begins in the ducts that carry milk to the nipple.

Invasive lobular carcinoma

Invasive lobular carcinoma starts as a benign tumor (lobular carcinoma in situ) in the milk-producing glands, and then it turns into an invasive cancer.

What type of breast surgery might I receive?

Southwest Surgical Associates have extensive experience diagnosing benign and malignant tumors, then recommending the best treatment for your condition. You may need:

Lumpectomy

A lumpectomy procedure removes a cancerous tumor along with some of the surrounding tissue.

Mastectomy

If your cancer spreads, you need a mastectomy to remove all or part of your breast.

Nipple-sparing mastectomy

Your surgeon removes the breast while preserving the nipple and skin, making it easier to reconstruct your breast.

Vacuum-assisted breast biopsy and excision

To remove benign tumors, your surgeon inserts a vacuum-powered probe into the tumor. Then they use gentle suction to pull a sample of the tumor into the probe’s chamber, repeating the process until they remove the mass.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy and axillary dissection

The sentinel lymph nodes are the closest nodes to the tumor and the first to receive cancer cells if the disease spreads. Your surgeon may only remove the sentinel lymph nodes or perform an axillary dissection, removing the nodes under your arm along with the sentinel nodes.

Localized excisional biopsy and lumpectomy

When your surgeon can’t feel the tumor, they use real-time X-ray imaging to insert a thin wire through your breast to the lump. During your lumpectomy, the wire shows your surgeon the area to remove.

Balloon catheter radiation

After a lumpectomy, your surgeon places a small balloon-like device into the space where the tumor was removed. The device connects to a machine that sends radiation treatment through the device and into the nearby tissues.

If you have questions about breast surgery, call Southwest Surgical Associates or book an appointment online today.

For post op instructions click here