Surgical treatment

Conserving the breast is our primary objective

Surgery is a fundamental part of breast cancer treatment, since the primary objective is to conserve the breast, and it is therefore used in the majority of cases.

Surgical techniques

  • Conservative breast surgery which, in 80% of cancer cases, allows the tumour and the affected area to be removed while still conserving the breast. Depending on the area, a lumpectomy can be performed (removing only the tumour area) or a partial mastectomy (removal of a quadrant of breast tissue because the tumour does not have visible borders).
  • Mastectomy, which consists of complete removal of the breast. This may be a modified radical mastectomy (removal of the mammary gland, the nipple/areola, the axillary (armpit) lymph nodes and, depending on the case, the pectoral muscles) or radical mastectomy (removal of the whole breast, the nipple/areola, the pectoral muscles, and the axillary lymph nodes).

Depending on the type of surgery, to save the breast if a large tumour has to be removed, oncoplastic and reconstructive surgery techniques may be used. The specialist will assess the different treatment options with the patient.