Surgical Methods
In breast surgery, the primary aim is to remove the tumor so that it does not remain behind, and to completely remove the lymph nodes in cases that spread to the armpit.
Today, the following options are applied in breast surgery;
- Removal of the breast (mastectomy).
- Partial removal of the breast (breast-conserving surgery).
- Removing the breast completely by protecting the breast skin and shaping the breast with fat tissue transplantation or special fillers from the patient into the breast skin.
- Preserving the breast skin and nipple, completely removing the inside of the breast and shaping the breast with fat tissue transplantation or special fillers into the breast skin from the patient.
- Breast reconstruction after removal of the breast and completion of treatments (chemotherapy-radiotherapy).
- In addition to all this breast surgery, removal of axillary lymph nodes or sentinel (guard) lymph node sampling.
Mastectomy
Mastectomy is the process of removing the breast completely. With this operation, all breast tissues and sometimes even nearby tissues are removed. There are four types of mastectomy surgeons use currently; Simple, skin sparing, modified radical and radical mastectomy.
Simple Mastectomy
This procedure is also called as total mastectomy. The entire breast, including the nipples, is removed, but not the axillary lymph nodes or the muscle tissues under the breast.
Most patients hospitalized for this surgery are discharged the next day. This method is the most commonly used method in the treatment of breast cancer.
Skin Sparing Mastectomy
In some female patients, the breast can be reconstructed during surgery. This procedure can benefit the patient as much as a simple mastectomy. The amount of breast tissue removed is the same as in the simple mastectomy method.
This method is used when breast reconstruction (aesthetic surgery) is planned immediately afterwards. Skin sparing mastectomy may not be suitable for large tumors or tumors close to the skin surface.
Modified Radical Mastectomy
With this method, chest muscles are left in place while all breast tissue and axillary lymph nodes are removed.
Radical Mastectomy
Radical mastectomy is a method that has been used quite frequently in the past. However, later on, newer surgical methods (such as modified radical mastectomy) have been found that are smaller but equally effective. In this way, the side effects of radical mastectomy and deformity of the breast are not observed in the patient.
In this large-scale operation, the entire breast, axillary lymph nodes and the pectoral (chest wall) muscles under the breast are removed.
