You’ll be taken to the anaesthetic bay near the operating theatre and made comfortable.
Your anaesthetist will insert an intravenous cannula into a vein for the anaesthetic, fluid and other drugs.
Your surgeon may use a pen to mark the area of your breast that’s going to be operated on.
Lumpectomy
Before starting the surgery, your surgeon may pinpoint the exact location of the cancer using guidewires, ultrasound or an inserted marker.
Your surgeon then makes an incision in the affected area of your breast and removes the cancerous tissue. The surgeon also removes a small area of healthy tissue surrounding the cancerous tissue. This is called the ‘surgical margin’.
After removing the cancerous tissue, the surgeon may make a separate incision to remove the targeted lymph nodes, sentinel lymph nodes or perform an axillary dissection. If the cancer is close to the armpit, it’s sometimes possible to do both breast and axillary procedures through the same incision.
Targeted or sentinel lymph nodes may be sent to a pathologist for examination during the operation. If there are more abnormal cells found, the surgeon may proceed to an axillary dissection.
After your surgery, the entire specimen will be sent to a pathologist for examination. It'll be measured and checked under a microscope for smaller groups of cancer cells which may be invisible to the naked eye.
A lumpectomy normally takes between 15 and 40 minutes, excluding the axillary procedure.
Mastectomy
During a mastectomy, your entire breast is removed. The nipple may be kept (nipple sparing mastectomy) or removed (skin sparing mastectomy). There may be a targeted lymph node dissection, sentinel lymph node procedure, or axillary dissection.
In some cases, your surgeon does this through one incision so there are no additional scars under your arm. In other cases, the breast incision will be around the nipple or in the fold under the breast and there’ll be a separate incision for the armpit procedure. The muscles in your chest aren’t removed but there may be some tissue left on your chest so there’s enough skin to do a breast reconstruction or hold an implant.
A mastectomy normally takes between 1–2 hours.
Breast reconstruction
Your breast may be reconstructed immediately after the operation, or at a later date.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Information is provided by HCF in good faith for the convenience of members. It is not an endorsement or recommendation of any form of treatment nor is it a substitute for medical advice, and you should rely on the advice of your treating doctors in relation to all matters concerning your health. Every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, however HCF takes no responsibility for any injury, loss, damage or other consequences of the use of this information.