Breast-Conserving Surgery (BCS)

Breast-conserving surgery is a type of breast cancer surgery in which the cancer is removed while maintaining as much normal breast tissue as possible. Many women choose breast-conserving surgery over mastectomy, but it has certain conditions:

• The cancer must be in its early stages.
• The cancer is located in one area only or in multiple areas in one quadrant, and they must be close enough to be able to remove them.
• The tumor must be less than 5 cm (2 inches).
• The patient mustn’t have a certain gene mutation that increases the risk of a second breast cancer.
• The patient isn’t pregnant.
• The patient doesn’t have severe connective tissue diseases, such as Sjogren’s syndrome or scleroderma. Also, she mustn’t have inflammatory breast cancer.
• The patient is willing to have radiation therapy after the procedure because she’s probably going to need it.

In lumpectomy surgery, the surgeon removes the cancer with some normal tissue that’s surrounding the tumor in order to make sure that all the cancer cells are removed. After the surgery, a specialist will examine the tissue that was removed in order to make sure that all the cancer cells are removed. In some conditions, the patient might require a re-excision operation to remove the rest of the cancer cells, if any, and if there are still cancer cells, a mastectomy will be necessary.

Breast-conserving surgery is done under local anesthesia with IV sedation or under general anesthesia. The patient can return home the same day of the surgery in most of the cases.

• Examining the patient’s health in general.
• The patient must stop taking blood thinners (anticoagulant medications), ibuprofen, and any other medications that the doctor mentions two weeks before the procedure.
• The patient mustn’t have anything for 12 hours before the procedure.

• Anesthesia problems.
• The size and shape of the breast will be changed.
• Scar tissue in the incision site.
• Infections.
• Bleeding.
• Lymphedema, in case a large part of the lymph nodes under the arm are removed.
• Chronic nerve pain in the chest wall, armpit, or arm.
• Shoulder stiffness.
• Hematoma (blood buildup) or seroma (fluid buildup).

• Some side effects might occur temporarily, such as pain, numbness, and swelling, and this is normal.
• You must stick to the medications prescribed by the doctor and the regular visits.
• Immediately contact your surgeon when any sudden, odd problem or symptoms emerge.
• You can return to your normal daily routine within 2 weeks after the surgery.
• You’ll be given certain arm and shoulder exercises to do after the surgery.
• The doctor will tell you how to take care of the incision and when you can reuse your arm normally, like in exercising, heavy lifting, etc.
• You will typically have radiation therapy after the surgery.