Breast Cancer Surgery
Most patients with breast cancer have surgery to remove the cancer from the breast. Some of the lymph nodes under the arm are usually taken out and looked at under a microscope to see if they contain cancer cells.
In the West of Ireland, at present, 65% of women do not need a mastectomy (entire breast removal) operation. In addition, the majority of women will only require a sentinel node operation rather than a full axillary clearance. Of the women treated in Galway who require mastectomy, 75% will have an immediate breast reconstruction at the same time.
Some details of the different operations are described below:
- Wide Local Excision
- Mastectomy
- Sentinel Node Biopsy
- Axillary Dissection
- Complications
- Post-Operative Care
