Lumpectomy

What is a lumpectomy?

That's where the majority of the breast is saved. Cancer is removed with a rim of normal tissue called a lump of tissue. Often radiation is required, and that is one option for treatment of breast cancer.

What can a patient expect during and after a lumpectomy procedure?

The lumpectomy procedure is an outpatient surgical procedure. Typically one's in the hospital for four or five hours and goes home that day. The recovery is actually very well tolerated. After a lymph node removal and the lumpectomy, many women experience some restriction of range of motion of their arm, and it's very natural because when they move their arms they're tugging on that little incision and sometimes they can have a little bit of restriction of their use. So we have them do range-of-motion exercises, which are usually very well tolerated. I'm always impressed and inspired by the motivation of our patients and how well they do these exercises. And it's very common within the week after I see them that their arms were completely normal. 

How long does it take to recover from a lumpectomy?

The complete recovery in terms of feeling pretty much back to normal is usually a couple weeks. Then they would normally need to have radiation afterwards or go on to other chemotherapy if they need that. The surgical treatment is very well tolerated. We're not cutting any muscle with the procedure and that's why there's not significant pain. And I write one pain pill prescription when our patients go home, and it's very unusual that I refill one because most people in a few days are feeling pretty normal.

Are there any cosmetic advantages to a lumpectomy?

The advantage of a lumpectomy is that most of the breast tissue is saved, and as such, the breast looks pretty normal from a physical standpoint afterwards. Yes, depending on how much tissue was removed, there could be an indentation or mild deformity, but in the high majority of cases most women are very pleased with results. However, in those women who maybe the results don't quite meet their expectations, they are eligible to undergo plastic surgery evaluation once the healing and the radiation and so on is done to see if something might be able to be done to improve their appearance. Those procedures can be something called fat grafting or something where the woman's fat is grafted into the area or even a small surgical procedure. It's been my experience that most women, once they've completed their treatment and they're feeling well and they're doing well and realize that they're going to do very well through this whole process, are very pleased that they've gone through things; they don't necessarily want to have any more things done right now. But that's always an option, but most women are very pleased with the results of the lumpectomy. 

Do patients who choose a mastectomy have higher survival rates than those who choose lumpectomy?

There's a very understandable perception by many women that having the breast removed is better treatment than a lumpectomy and saving the breasts. They feel that it gives a better chance removing more tissue, completely understandable perception, but we know by the science it has been proven there is no difference in the survival rate. I often tell a woman you can have your breasts removed, but it will not give you an improved chance of survival, and if you have a lumpectomy, you have an equally as good of chance of being cured as if you had a mastectomy.