Breast Cancer Surgery
What to expect with breast cancer surgery
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Expert Surgical Oncology for Breast Cancer
The Joseph M. and Thelma Linsey BreastCare Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) provides comprehensive, compassionate support for breast cancer. Our expert cancer surgeons offer the latest surgical procedures for breast cancer:
- Mastectomy, or radical mastectomy: Complete removal of the breast or breasts (double mastectomy)
- Partial mastectomy, or lumpectomy: Removal of cancerous tissue and a margin of healthy tissue (some breast tissue remains intact).
When possible, our surgeons use breast conserving techniques. Many people have breast surgery in combination with other breast cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, endocrine therapy or radiation therapy.
Preparing for Breast Cancer Surgery
If you smoke, it is important for you to stop. Smoking increases your risk of lung problems and poor wound healing from your surgery. Please call your primary care doctor or surgeon’s office if you need help quitting your tobacco habit.
It's also important to eat healthy foods leading up to your surgery to prepare your body for proper healing and recovery. However, you shouldn’t eat and drink after midnight the evening before your surgery.
You will either receive a call from a nurse or come into the hospital to speak with someone to discuss your upcoming surgery and make sure you are cleared for anesthesia. This is called a preadmission testing appointment. The pre-admission testing group will instruct you as to which of your current medications you should continue taking prior to surgery.
Your nurse navigator or surgeon will give you a form with pre-surgery showering instructions. Following these instructions will decrease your chances for developing infection. Be sure you have someone drive you home from the hospital after you’re done with surgery.
If you have questions, please ask your nurse navigator.
Breast Conservation & Reconstruction
Some people who have surgery for breast cancer, choose to also have breast reconstruction. Our expert plastic and reconstructive surgeons offer you the latest options for reconstruction.
What To Expect the Day of Breast Cancer Surgery
Your surgeon’s office staff will tell you where to check in on the day of your surgery. We also will give you written instructions with all of these details.
You can expect these steps just before your surgery begins:
- You’ll meet with your surgical team including the anesthesiologist, surgeon and others who may assist during your procedure.
- An experienced anesthesia nurse or doctor will place an intravenous (IV) line that will provide you with anesthesia so you don’t feel any pain during surgery.
- A member of your surgical team will mark which breast(s) will be operated on.
- As part of our commitment to patient safety, you will be asked numerous times during your stay to state your name, date of birth and the surgical procedure you are having.
There is a waiting area for family members or friends who will be at the hospital while you are in surgery. A member of your care team will tell your loved ones how long they expect your surgery to take and when they should get an update from the surgeon.
You should:
- Shower as instructed the morning of surgery
- Wear comfortable clothing
- Not wear any jewelry or bring any valuables with you to the hospital
- If you were instructed to take medication, please do so with just enough water to swallow the pills. Otherwise, don’t eat or drink anything after midnight the night before surgery.
When you check in to the hospital, a member of your care team will escort you to the holding area. Your family member or friend may accompany you to this area until you go into the operating room. A pre-op nurse will get you settled and changed into a hospital gown.
If you aren’t staying overnight in the hospital following surgery, you will be in the recovery room for a few hours until your team feels you are ready to be sent home. A member of your care team will then give you instructions on how to care for yourself at home.
Your care team will give you a phone number to call if you have any questions once you are home. You also may call your nurse navigator with any questions.
If you are staying overnight in the hospital after surgery, your care team will bring you to the recovery room. Once the team feels you are ready, you will be moved to your hospital room.
Recovery from Breast Surgery
Recovery from surgery depends on which procedure you had. Typically, recovery from a lumpectomy is faster than recovery from a mastectomy. You may receive a call from your nurse navigator after surgery to check on your recovery.
Your nurse navigator will make an appointment for you to come in two to four weeks after surgery to:
- Discuss your healing progress
- Remove any drains
- Review your surgical pathology
- Set up the next step in your overall breast care
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