What is Oncoplastic Breast Surgery?

Traditionally, breast cancer patients who decide to undergo a mastectomy for one or both breasts first receive treatment to target the cancer; usually followed by a recovery period, after which one or several additional surgeries are necessary to help reconstruct the breasts.

Extreme oncoplasty combines cancer surgery with plastic surgery to remove the tumors and reconstruct the breast at the same time. With more and more women opting to undergo preventive mastectomies, or opting to have the breasts removed after a cancer diagnosis, breast surgeons Dr. Sadia Khan, Dr. Silverstein, and plastic surgeon Dr. Savalia have applied their expertise to offer women less invasive, breast preserving alternatives to mastectomy.

In addition to sparing women from the need for multiple surgeries, as well as minimizing many of the side effects and scarring that result from traditional breast cancer surgery and reconstruction, oncoplastic surgery offers eligible women a viable and effective alternative to radical mastectomies.

Extreme oncoplasty, also known as breast conservation surgery, can be an option for women who have been advised to undergo a mastectomy for large tumors and positive lymph nodes. Rather than removing the entire breast and otherwise healthy tissue to eliminate the tumors, Dr. Khan and the oncology and plastic surgery teams at Hoag work together to remove the tumors while also preserving healthy breast tissue.

Immediate Reconstruction

Rather than undergoing multiple surgeries over an extended period of time, immediate reconstruction offers targeted treatment of breast tumors and cosmetic reconstruction in the same surgery.

Skin Sparing Mastectomy

This method preserves the skin surrounding the breast after a mastectomy in order to get a more natural and cosmetically appealing result when the breast is reconstructed.

Nipple Sparing Mastectomy

A typical mastectomy involves the removal of the entire breast, including the nipple and areola. Depending on the patient, and the location and size of the tumors, as well as the makeup of the breasts, Dr. Khan can perform this procedure by using an incision on the outer side of the breast to save the nipple.

In addition to helping preserve the breasts after a cancer diagnosis, oncoplasty can also help to minimize many of the side effects associated with full mastectomies, including:

• Shorter treatment time
• Less/smaller scars
• Less long term side effects
• Better cosmetic results

The availability of successful breast cancer treatment with oncoplastic surgery may also have the added benefit of giving women with a strong family history of breast cancer, or who have tested positive for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes the option to consider taking a wait-and-see approach before deciding to undergo a preventive mastectomy before they have actually been diagnosed with breast cancer.