Forsyth Medical Center 
Breast
| Regular breast self-exams combined with mammographies and physical exams are the best ways to screen for breast problems. Although detecting breast cancer at its earliest stages is the main goal of routine breast care, other benign conditions, such as fibrocystic breasts or cysts, are often discovered during routine care. |
Breast cancer a common disorder of the breast. It is among the most common type of cancer among women in the United States. Click above to learn more about breast cancer.
Surgical procedures to treat breast cancer include:
Lumpectomy/Partial Mastectomy
A surgeon removes the breast cancer and some normal tissue around it. Often, some of the lymph nodes under the arm are removed. It is usually followed by radiation therapy to destroy any cancer cells that may remain in the area.
Simple (Total) Mastectomy
This is removal of the whole breast. A simple mastectomy may be combined with a sentinel node biopsy or node dissection.
Modified Radical Mastectomy
This includes removal of the breast, nipple and some of the lymph nodes, sparing the muscle in the chest wall.
Radical Mastectomy
A surgeon removes the breast, the chest muscles, all of the lymph nodes under the arm and some additional fat and skin. For many years, this operation was considered standard for women with breast cancer, but it is very rarely used today and only in cases of advanced cancer in which the cancer has spread to the chest muscles.
Needle Biopsy
Needle biopsy is a performed to identify the cause of a lump or mass in the breast. During the procedure, the doctor inserts a small needle, guided by X-ray or other imaging techniques, into the abnormal area. A sample of tissue is removed and given to a pathologist who looks at it under a microscope to determine what the abnormality is -- for example, cancer, a noncancerous tumor, infection, or scar.
Mammosite Placement
After the surgeon removes the tumor, an uninflated MammoSite balloon is gently placed inside the tumor cavity through a small incision. A portion of the catheter will remain outside of the breast. The MammoSite balloon can be placed either during your lumpectomy surgery or up to 10 weeks after surgery in a separate procedure. Through this balloon, radiation can be given more quickly.
Sentinel Node Biopsy
This procedure involves locating the few lymph nodes near the site of cancer that would receive lymph fluid drainage from the tumor itself. If any tumor cells have moved from the original area involved, those lymph nodes would most likely hold them. These lymph nodes are found using a radioactive tracer and blue dye.
Breast Reconstruction
The general surgeons work closely with plastic surgeons to perform breast reconstruction. Often, plastic surgery can be done at the same time the breast surgery is done. Reconstruction can be done using implants or tissue transfers from the stomach or back.
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