Techniquehelps
conservebreast tissue
BREAST CANCER AND ONCOPLASTIC SURGERY
Julie Conyers, MD
General Surgeon,
Mercy Medical
Center Mt. Shasta
Women’s Health
Surgery
to remove a cancerous tumor
from your breast may save your life. How-
ever, it may also change the appearance of
your breast, giving a poor cosmetic result.
That’s why breast cancer surgeons consis-
tently work to preserve both your health
and the appearance of your breasts.
One surgical method, oncoplastic sur-
gery, employs techniques that combine
breast-sparing tumor removal with plastic
surgery.
Howitworks
With oncoplastic surgery, the surgeon
rst performs a lumpectomy or partial
mastectomy. The initial goal is to remove
the entire tumor, along with a small rim of
surrounding breast tissue, while preserving
normal breast tissue. Once the tumor is
removed, the next goal is to reposition the
remaining breast tissue to ll in the result-
ing defect.
“
The role of oncoplastic surgery is to make
the breast look as cosmetically pleasing as
possible and still provide a surgical cure,”
says Julie Conyers, MD, General Surgeon.
“
In some cases, the healthy breast will also
be reshaped during the operation. This
ensures that both breasts are similar
in size and shape.”
Who is a candidate for the surgery?
Most women who can have breast-sparing
surgery are also candidates for
oncoplastic surgery. New tech-
niques have extended breast
conservation surgery to women
who previously would not have
been eligible. Depending on the
size and position of the tumor, sur-
gery is tailored to each woman’s
needs.
Dr. Conyers recently joined
the medical sta of Mercy
Medical Center Mt. Shasta.
She is certi ed by the American
Board of Surgery and provides
oncoplastic surgical techniques
for women in the North State.
For a comprehensive list of
Dignity Health North State breast
reconstruction surgeons in your area,
call
888.628.1948
.
Sources: American Society of Plastic Surgeons;
American Cancer Society;
Annals of Surgery
,
Vol. 237, No. 1;
International Journal of Breast
Cancer
,
Vol. 2011, Article ID 303879,
doi:10.4061/2011/303879
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