After being diagnosed with breast cancer, the first decision a woman usually must make is which type of surgery to undergo.

The type of surgery selected may influence the need for radiation therapy, but will not influence the decisions about chemotherapy or hormonal therapy.

Types of Surgery

• Breast-conserving surgery: An operation to remove the cancer but not the breast itself. One type of breast-conserving surgery is lumpectomy, a surgical procedure to remove a tumor (lump) and a small amount of normal tissue around it. When a lumpectomy is selected, radiation therapy to the breast is often recommended.
• Total mastectomy: A surgical procedure to remove the whole breast that has cancer. This procedure is also called a simple mastectomy. This surgery will leave a flat chest on that side unless reconstruction is chosen.
• Sentinel lymph node biopsy: A technique that injects colored and radioactive tracers near the breast tumor, allowing surgeons to sample only those lymph nodes at highest risk of having tumor spread. If the sentinal node is free of tumor, no further local treatment is necessary, sparing most women from the complications of older forms of axillary surgery. If the lymph nodes contain cancer, additional removal of nearby lymph nodes is required and is often done at the same surgery. Duke was one of the first sites to develop and evaluate this procedure.
• Breast reconstruction: If a patient is going to have a mastectomy, breast reconstruction may be considered. This surgery involves rebuilding the breast mound. State-of-the-art breast reconstruction by Duke’s world-renowned plastic surgeons is available and can be performed at the time of mastectomy, if the patient prefers.

Learn more about reconstructive breast surgery at Duke.

Most breast surgeries at Duke are performed in the Ambulatory Surgery Center, a full-service outpatient surgical facility, which allows women to recover in a hotel-like setting.

Physicians

Physicians offering this service include:

• Lyerly, H. Kim
• Olson, John A. Jr.
• Pruitt, Scott K.
• Scheri, Randall P.
• Wilke, Lee G.

Locations

This service is available at:

• Duke Ambulatory Surgery Center
  2400 Pratt Street, Durham, NC 27710
• Durham Regional Hospital
  3643 Roxboro Road, Durham, NC 27704