subject: Lumpectomy vs. Mastectomy — Advantages and Disadvantages [print this page] Lumpectomy or Mastectomy in India is now being provided to the patients from all over the world with latest facilities and globally benchmarked healthcare services administered by experienced surgeons and physicians trained in international medical practices. Breast cancer surgery is provided at specialized cancer hospitals having a team of highly-trained expert cancer surgeons of international repute and research analysts working together to develop newer treatment approaches and using them for effective patient cure and care. With the use of advanced medical technology and newly invented techniques the recovery time after surgery is shortened and within very short period time frame patients becomes fit and return back to work.
Under certain circumstances, people with breast cancer have the opportunity to choose between total removal of a breast (Mastectomy) and breast-conserving surgery (Lumpectomy) followed by radiation.
Deciding factors
Although most women who have a choice prefer the less invasive lumpectomy, deciding between lumpectomy and mastectomy depends on a how you feel about the following:
Do you want to keep your breast? If it's important to you to keep your breast, you may decide to have lumpectomy with radiation instead of mastectomy.
Do you want your breasts to match as much as possible in size? For most women, lumpectomy has a good cosmetic result. In rare cases when a larger area of tissue needs to be removed, lumpectomy can cause the breast to look smaller or distorted. There are reconstruction options available for both lumpectomy (if there is significant distortion) and mastectomy. If you need to have a large area of tissue removed and two breasts of matching size are very important to you, you and your doctor will need to decide which surgery is best for your situation.
Lumpectomy: Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantage of lumpectomy is that it can preserve much of the appearance and sensation of your breast. It is a less invasive surgery, so your recovery time is shorter and easier than with mastectomy.
Lumpectomy has a few potential disadvantages:
You are likely to have 5 to 7 weeks of radiation therapy, 5 days per week, after lumpectomy surgery to make sure the cancer is gone.
Radiationtherapy may affect the timing of reconstruction and possibly your reconstruction options after surgery. Radiation therapy also may affect your options for later surgery to lift or balance your breasts.
There is a somewhathigher risk of developing a local recurrence of the cancer after lumpectomy than after mastectomy. However, local recurrence can be treated successfully with mastectomy.
The breast cannot safely tolerate additional radiation if there is a recurrence in the same breast after lumpectomy. This is true for either a recurrence of the same cancer, or for a new cancer. If you have a second cancer in the same breast, your doctor will usually recommend that you have a mastectomy.
Mastectomy: Advantages and disadvantages
For some women, removing the entire breast provides greater peace of mind ("just get the whole thing out of there!"). Radiation therapy may still be needed, depending on the results of the pathology.
Mastectomy has some possible disadvantages:
Mastectomy takes longer and is more extensive than lumpectomy, with more post-surgery side effects and a longer recuperation time.
Mastectomy means a permanent loss of your breast.
You are likely to have additional surgeries to reconstruct your breastafter mastectomy.
