Breast Surgery

Breast Surgery relates to surgery on the breast and surrounding area.  Surgery may be carried out to remove cancerous tumours, to provide reconstruction or for cosmetic purposes.

Here at East Cheshire NHS Trust, we understand how women must feel about having breast surgery. We will always do our utmost to ensure that every patient's experience is positive.

Breast procedures at East Cheshire NHS Trust

• Breast cancer
• Sentinel node biopsy  and Axillary clearance
• Breast reconstruction
• Therapeutic Mammaplasty (Breast reduction in breast cancer patients)
• Breast reduction
• Mastopexy
• Breast Augmentation
• Lipomodelling
• Nipple reconstruction
• Areolar tattooing
• Gynecomastia
• Tuberous Breast Deformity
• Capsulectomy

We specialise in the following types of reconstructions :

• Subpectoral 
• Latissimus Dorsi
• TRAM flap

We also perform contralateral symmetrisation procedures such as :

• Breast reduction
• Mastopexy
• Augmentation

Surgical options
Surgical options are breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) and mastectomy. Breast-conserving surgery in some cases can be combined with a breast lift up (mastopexy) or breast reduction, this procedure is called a Therapeutic Mammoplasty. Most patients having a mastectomy are suitable to have immediate reconstruction.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery
Breast reconstruction should be viewed as a process, rather than as one finite operation. It may take a number of operations to get the desired cosmetic result, or to treat complications that develop due to the effects of time and gravity (such as capsule formation around an implant and increasing breast asymmetry).

It is important to understand what can be achieved through the process of breast reconstruction. It is simply not possible to reconstruct a breast that is as good or as natural as one’s own breast. Whilst we do our best in surgery, our results are simply not as good as those achieved through nature. We aim to make a reconstructed breast that looks symmetrical with the other breast when wearing a bra. However, out of a bra, it will be obvious that the breast has undergone major surgery and reconstruction. Also, in general, the reconstructed breast sits higher on the chest wall than the other breast, is firmer to touch, relatively insensate and much less mobile.  So, a reconstructed breast does not necessarily look, move or feel like a normal breast.

Breast-conserving surgery
The aim of breast-conserving surgery is to remove cancer along with a centimetre of surrounding normal breast tissue all around it and to leave the woman with a reasonably normal-looking breast.

The cosmetic result will depend on:

•       Size of the tumour
•       Position of the tumour within the breast
•       Size of the breast