Breast Cancer Surgeons in Hyderabad - Oncoplastic & Breast-Conserving Surgery

The most commonly offered operation for early-stage breast cancer. The surgeon removes the tumour and a rim of healthy tissue around it (the margin), while keeping the rest of the breast intact. CION surgeons use oncoplastic reshaping techniques alongside lumpectomy to prevent the breast from looking deformed after the tumour is removed. Most patients go home the same day or the following morning. Radiation therapy after lumpectomy is usually recommended to reduce the risk of local recurrence; your radiation oncologist is part of the plan from the start.

Removal of the entire breast — including the nipple-areola complex — when the tumour is large relative to breast size, multi-focal (spread across several quadrants), or when local recurrence after prior lumpectomy has occurred. Lymph nodes under the arm are assessed but not routinely removed unless sentinel-node biopsy results indicate spread. Breast reconstruction, immediate or delayed, is discussed with every patient before mastectomy is chosen. Most patients stay one to two nights in hospital.

Oncoplastic surgery is a specialised approach that combines cancer removal with immediate breast reshaping in a single operation. Volume-displacement techniques redistribute remaining breast tissue after tumour removal; volume-replacement techniques bring in tissue from adjacent areas (e.g. a lateral thoracic flap) to fill the defect. The result is that most patients have clear margins — the cancer fully removed — and a breast shape they are satisfied with, without needing a second cosmetic procedure later. Not all surgeons offer this; every CION breast cancer surgeon is trained in oncoplastic methods.

For selected patients undergoing mastectomy, preserving the breast skin envelope (skin-sparing mastectomy) or both the skin and the nipple-areola complex (nipple-sparing mastectomy) allows the reconstructed breast to look and feel significantly more natural. Candidacy depends on tumour location relative to the nipple, margin analysis from frozen sections taken during surgery, and the patient's anatomy. When oncologically safe, CION surgeons prefer these approaches because they make immediate reconstruction easier and the cosmetic result better.

Before removing lymph nodes under the arm (axillary clearance), surgeons use a sentinel-node biopsy to identify and sample only the first one to three lymph nodes that drain the tumour. If these are clear of cancer, the remaining nodes do not need to be removed — sparing the patient from the risk of lymphoedema (arm swelling) that comes with full axillary clearance. If the sentinel nodes contain cancer cells, the decision on whether to do axillary clearance or treat with radiation is reviewed by the tumour board. CION performs sentinel-node biopsy routinely for clinically node-negative breast cancer.

When a mastectomy is needed, restoring breast shape is available in-house at CION — you do not need to travel between hospitals or coordinate separate surgical teams. Immediate reconstruction happens at the time of mastectomy in a single operation; delayed reconstruction is done months later, often after chemotherapy or radiation is complete. Options include implant-based reconstruction (with or without a tissue expander) and autologous reconstruction using your own tissue (e.g. LD flap). Your CION surgeon discusses all options — and their implications for your cancer treatment timeline — before a decision is made.