Wide Excision and Axillary Clearance

What Is Breast—Wide Excision and Axillary Sample Surgery?

Breast—wide excision surgery (often called a lumpectomy breast-conserving surgery/therapy, or quadrantectomy (when as much as a quarter of the breast is removed)) is a procedure in which a cancerous lump or tumor is surgically removed from the breast along with some of the surrounding tissue. Lumpectomy procedures are becoming increasingly popular since they minimize damage to the breast, in contrast to a mastectomy where the patient loses the entire breast. 

Since breast cancer cells typically travel first to the lymph nodes in the armpit, an axillary (underarm) lymph node sample surgery is necessary to establish whether the cancer has spread out from the breast.  The surgeon removes between ten and thirty lymph nodes during axillary sample surgery.  When appropriate, a sentinel lymph node biopsy makes a good alternative, since this form of testing requires the removal of only one to three lymph nodes.  This eliminates the painful side effects caused by axillary sample surgery, such as lymphedema—a chronic swelling of the arm.