Nowadays, “abnormal breast lumps” are increasingly common in Thai women. They can be found at almost any age, especially between 20 – 45 years old. Statistics show that 15-24% of women worldwide will have abnormal lumps in their breasts, but not every lump requires surgical removal for examination.
Breast Lump Examination
Currently, there are methods to take tissue samples from abnormal breast lumps to determine whether they are cancerous or benign tumors without having to surgically remove the lump. This is done by Core Needle Biopsy, including increasing accuracy to ensure the biopsy targets the suspicious lump using Ultrasound Guided Core Needle Biopsy, especially in cases with small lumps that cannot be felt or multiple lumps in the same breast. If the biopsy results show that the lump is abnormal or poses a risk to the patient’s health in the future, surgical removal of the abnormal breast lump is necessary.
Breast Lump Excision Technique (Excisional Breast Biopsy)
Generally, surgeons make an incision over the lump and remove it for examination without closing the cavity left after removal. The consequences include scarring on the breast, breast shrinkage, dimpling in the cavity area caused by surgery, breast deformity, and sometimes the tissue removed is not from the lump intended for excision, especially in cases of small, non-palpable lumps or in patients with large breast tissue.
The scarless localized wide local excision at breast mass technique was developed to solve these problems, reduce cavities, and minimize the impact caused by traditional breast surgery. It can be performed on lumps of all types, sizes, and locations, including patients with breast implants, without leaving scars on the breast after surgery. The lump to be removed is precisely and clearly localized, preventing dimpling or breast deformity. Importantly, it helps patients experience less pain and recover faster.
Steps of Scarless and Localized Surgery
- Perform a procedure to localize the lump called Needle Localization Under Ultrasound Guidance.
- Proceed with surgery to remove the lump and surrounding tissue according to the localized position, using a hidden incision around the areola. All cavities in the breast layers caused by surgery will be closed. If the cavity is too large (depending on the size of the removed tissue) and cannot be closed by suturing, the surgeon will use adjacent breast tissue (Local Flap) to close the cavity.
- The surgical wound will be closed with absorbable sutures, so there is no need to have stitches removed after surgery.
- Follow up with the surgeon to check the wound after surgery, similar to general surgical procedures.
