Demystifying Breast Cancer Surgery

Besides the physical scars that patients get following a breast cancer surgery, most of the other physical changes or discomforts that occur are mostly temporary. The cancer patient should always be willing to work out an ideal treatment plan together with the doctor. This ensures that doctor prepares the patient for the most likely side effects and also assesses them to determine the activities the patient can or cannot engage in. The side effects of the breast cancer surgery are mostly likely to affect not only the activities that they can do but also their social life as well as responsibilities. It is, therefore, important to prepare for all this.

Basically, the breast cancer surgery involves the removal of cancerous cells from the breasts. The thorax muscles that are underlying, commonly known as the pectoralis minor and pectoralis major, are usually left unresected. The improvements in how the breast cancer surgery is performed over the years have ensured that the pain and the recovery time are greatly reduced. A more important benefit of these improvements is that today patients no longer have to wait for the longer period while having the muscle resected. In fact, there are patients who have undergone lumpectomy without any lymph node dissection and they managed to be discharged on exactly the same day of operation. A lumpectomy is the removal of small tumors or lumps that are either malignant or not. Lumpectomy is done surgically. On the other hand, the lymph node dissection is a surgical procedure that involves the removal of the lymph nodes so that they can be examined whether they have cancer or not. In the cases whereby the auxiliary lymph nodes are removed then the patient’s recovery is expected to take much longer.  This is because when the auxiliary lymph nodes are removed then the lymph flow is interrupted and therefore a rubber tube is always inserted into the wound so that it can temporarily act as the lymph fluid drainage.  A patient who has undergone either the lymph node dissection or the lumpectomy is always expected to be between one to two days.

The soft rubber tube that acts as a temporary drain will empty into containers that are expandable and are about the size of a softball. The doctor will usually empty the container on a daily basis and the amount of liquid that is disposed of is also recorded for monitoring. After several days following the operation then you will be able to notice that the amount of fluid reduces drastically and finally the doctor can remove the drain.  In the case of a lymph node dissection, most of the surgeons will recommend that the affected arm should be kept immobilized. This will ensure that wound heals quickly and the lymphatic flow is also minimized as much as possible. After the breast cancer surgery and the drain as been removed as well as the wound has started healing then the patient is always advised, to begin with, mild motion exercises. While some of the surgeons will recommend active exercises some will refer their patients to physical therapists. Physical therapy is the most ideal especially for patients who have undergone the lymphadenectomy, which is the removal of lymph nodes surgically. However, it will still remain within the decision and consultation of both the doctor and the patient for what will be best.

Following a breast cancer surgery that involved lymph node dissection, the patient is most likely to experience numbness especially in the armpit, this is because of the nerves that were cut in that area during the operation. This should be of great concern since several months later after the operation the sensory feeling will have returned since nerves will have been regenerated. There is patient who will have permanent numbness and their sensory senses impaired. In the event that a patient experiences this numbness, then they should be extra careful while performing activities such as shaving around the armpit area.  It is recommended that they electric razors for this. Patients who did the lymphadenectomy can develop a vein that is obstructed just inside the arm that was affected.  In the event that a patient who has undergone breast cancer surgery and experience this, then chemotherapy will be the best option.