Breast-conserving cancer surgery or breast removal? It depends on the stage of the disease.
Thanks to plastic surgical skills (the so-called oncoplastic methods) we can perform large resections for the cancer breast and remodel the breast back at the same operation. In 2017, in the Savonlinna area, 75% of the breast cancer surgeries were performed with the breast-conserving method.
It is possible to successfully operate on relatively big tumours by reducing the size and reshaping large breasts. The surgical radicality (clear margins around a tumour) is assessed by radiological and pathological examinations after the operation.
Sometimes we also correct the size of the healthy breast to get optimal symmetry. We would do this while performing the radical resection and remodelling of the breast in case of big tumours.
Breast removal can be necessary when the tumour is very large in proportion to the breast size or if it is multilocular. Breast cancer gene carriers will also need to go through breast removal.
If we need to remove the breast, the skin of the breast area can still be spared. We can add an expander below the pectoral muscle, which can then be filled to restore the size of the breast, all while in cancer treatment. Depending on the size and location of a tumour, we can save the nipple too. We perform the final breast reconstruction after the patient has recovered from her disease. It is possible to perform an immediate breast reconstruction during the removal in selected cases too.