Preserving breasts during breast cancer treatment

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor II Phung Thi Phuong Chi - Oncology Center - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.
The surgical methods for breast cancer can leave serious complications such as: Long scar shrinkage, loss of one breast, restriction of shoulder movement on the operating side... To reduce complications, two doctors Fisher and Veronesi proposed breast-conserving therapy with partial mastectomy with radiation therapy. The success rate and aesthetic results are very positive. Since then, many new methods of breast-conserving treatment have been born and their effectiveness has improved.

1. What is breast-conserving therapy?

Breast-conserving therapy includes breast-conserving surgery and adjuvant radiation therapy immediately after surgery. Breast-conserving surgery is a surgical procedure with the goal of completely removing breast cancer tissue and leaving as much of the surrounding normal tissue as possible.
The benefit of breast-conserving surgery is that it can guarantee a cure similar to that of a total mastectomy. Above all, conservative surgery also helps to ensure aesthetics, quality of life and helps female patients to be more confident. After the tumor surgery, the doctors will perform surgery to fill the gaps and reshape the mammary gland to balance the remaining healthy breast to ensure aesthetics.

2. What are the methods of breast reconstruction surgery?

Breast reconstruction surgery is surgery to reconstruct the breast after complete removal of the mammary gland (mastectomy) or conservative surgery. Reconstructive surgery can be performed immediately after the mastectomy or delayed for some time after the mastectomy.
Generally, breast-conserving therapy can be divided into three main groups:
Breast reconstruction with implants. Breast reconstruction using autologous tissue (skin - fat - muscle in the back, abdomen, or buttocks). Breast reconstruction uses both implants and autologous tissue. The selection of the right breast reconstruction method for each individual will be based on many factors such as preoperative and contralateral breast size, volume of breast tissue removed, available autologous tissue, and individual wishes of the patient. each patient.

What are the complications of breast reconstruction surgery?

In addition to the benefits such as ensuring treatment efficiency and improving aesthetics compared to mastectomy methods, breast conservation and reconstruction surgery can also bring complications such as feeling of tightness, swelling and pain. in the breast, hard or keloid scars (depending on the individual patient's location), change in the shape of the breast, and a burning sensation in the chest wall and armpit area. These complications often also occur during classical mastectomy.
If you have been diagnosed with early breast cancer, discuss with your oncologist the possibility of preserving breast shape before treatment. Currently, even in large tumor stages, chemotherapy treatment before breast-conserving surgery still has a chance to retain the breast shape.

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