Many people have inquired about lumpectomy and the potential defect or contour deformity following this type of breast-conserving therapy for breast cancer. Sometimes after a lumpectomy, women complain of significant breast asymmetry after the excision and radiation therapy that follows. Depending on the tissue resected and location, there is also a potential for concavity at the site of the lumpectomy. Certainly there is a potential for plastic surgery during the lumpectomy as an oncoplastic procedure.
A very gratifying procedure for women opting for breast conserving therapy is to perform an oncoplastic cancer resection in combination with your breast surgeon, so as to remove the cancer as a lumpectomy, while also reducing/lifting the breast at the same time. By including the cancer specimen within the tissue that would already be excised in a breast reduction or a breast lift, it would not only remove the cancer, often times giving even larger margins than by lumpectomy alone, and then rearranging the tissue in a standard breast reduction/breast lift fashion to contour the breast at that time. This same pattern is usually performed on the opposite breast to also reduce/lift the breast creating perky, lifted breasts - as is the goal in a breast reduction and breast lift. There would be no difference in the manner in which this procedure is performed nor in the way that the cancer is excised. Simply, the cancer would be excised in tissue that would already be removed during the breast reduction or breast lift procedure anyhow.
Women with larger breasts or needing a breast lift are the ideal candidates for this procedure. This procedure is done in conjunction with a breast surgeon and the plastic surgeon would design the incisions and areas to be excised in order to have adequate margins with the cancer removal as well as create the most aesthetically-appearing breasts afterwards. This may be discussed with your breast surgeon if you are interested in in such a procedure for your breast-conserving therapy.
