What Happens During Breast-Conserving Surgery

Before you have breast-conserving surgery, your doctor may want to see if cancer has spread. A sentinel lymph node biopsy removes a specific lymph node from under your arm. If it doesn’t have cancer, you may not need surgery. If it does have cancer, you may still need another kind of treatment before surgery.

What happens during breast-conserving surgery depends on the type you have.

• Lumpectomy. Your surgeon removes the tumor and a small part of surrounding normal breast tissue. Your breast will have a scar but will look mostly the same as before surgery.  

• Segmental mastectomy. Your surgeon removes the tumor and at least one-quarter of your breast. Sometimes part of the lining over your chest muscles has to be removed, too.

You will likely have radiation treatment for about 6 weeks after breast-conserving surgery. You may also need another treatment after surgery. This may include chemotherapy or hormone treatment.