Breast surgery or mastectomy

Breast surgery or mastectomy permits to extract a grand number of cancerous cells. This procedure can be carried out in two ways:

• Partial mastectomy

Partial mastectomy or tumorectomy is a conservative procedure, and only concerns one section of the breast. This procedure allows preservation of the major part of the breast treated, and is used to remove exclusively the tumor, without touching neighboring tissue.

• Total mastectomy

Total mastectomy or complete breast ablation is used to remove the entire breast affected by cancer. It is possible to resort to reconstructive surgery during or after the procedure, using plastic surgery.

These interventions is proceeded by two consultations:

• The consultation with the surgeon

This consultation is done to inform the patient on the chosen technique, the objection of the operation, and the eventual complications. It is also a possibility that a tissue sample will be taken to be analysed or researched.

• The consultation with the anaesthesiologist

The procedures listed above are done under general anaesthesia. The purpose of this visit with the anaesthesiologist is to determine the risk associated with the chosen anaesthetic. This risk is established using personal and medical antecedents including past surgeries, allergies, cardiac affections (i.e. chronic angina), and respiratory illnesses (i.e. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – COPD). All conditions must be communicated to the anaesthesiologist to avoid any eventual complications.

Fiche Breast surgery

• Author : Florian Reinaud, MD
• Date : Apr 19, 2018