Lumpectomy (Breast-Conserving Surgery)

Lumpectomy, also called wide local excision or breast-conserving surgery, removes a breast cancer together with a rim of healthy tissue around it and leaves the rest of the breast in place. Lymph nodes in the armpit are usually sampled through a separate small cut during the same operation.

For most early breast cancers, lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy gives the same survival as mastectomy while keeping the breast. Its limit is the margin: if cancer cells reach the edge of the removed tissue, a second operation is needed, and radiotherapy afterwards is part of the treatment in nearly all cases.

What Lumpectomy (Breast-Conserving Surgery) involves

Planning rests on mammography, ultrasound, often MRI, and a core biopsy that gives the tumour type and receptor status. Your case should be reviewed by a multidisciplinary team. If the tumour cannot be felt, a wire, magnetic seed or radioactive seed is placed under imaging before surgery to guide the surgeon. Under general anaesthetic the tumour is removed with a margin, the specimen is X-rayed in theatre to confirm the target is inside, and metal clips mark the cavity for the radiotherapy team. A blue dye or radioactive tracer identifies the sentinel node or nodes, which are removed and tested. The remaining breast tissue is reshaped (oncoplastic techniques) so that the contour is kept.

Who is a good candidate for Lumpectomy (Breast-Conserving Surgery)?

It suits most women with a single early tumour that is small in relation to the breast.

• Invasive cancer or DCIS confined to one area of the breast
• Tumour small enough, or shrunk enough by chemotherapy beforehand, to leave an acceptable shape
• Ability and willingness to have radiotherapy afterwards
• A wish to keep the breast

It is usually not the right choice if:

• Tumours in several separate quadrants, or widespread DCIS
• Previous radiotherapy to the same breast or chest, in most cases
• Inflammatory breast cancer
• Some carriers of BRCA or similar gene changes, who may prefer mastectomy for risk reduction
• Pregnancy in the early months, when radiotherapy cannot follow in time

Technique options

• Standard wide local excision: For small tumours in a breast of adequate size.
• Oncoplastic lumpectomy: Combines cancer removal with breast reduction or lift techniques, allowing larger excisions and often a balancing procedure on the other side.
• Wire, magnetic seed or radar localisation: Guides removal of tumours that can be seen on imaging but not felt.
• Sentinel lymph node biopsy: Standard staging of the armpit when nodes appear normal on imaging.
• Lumpectomy after neoadjuvant therapy: Drug treatment first shrinks the tumour to make breast conservation possible.

What happens during your treatment

The operation takes 1 to 2 hours under general anaesthetic. Most women go home the same day or after one night. Pain is usually moderate and controlled with simple tablets. The armpit wound is often the more uncomfortable of the two.

Preparing for your trip

Plan for 10 to 14 days for surgery and pathology, longer with radiotherapy in Istanbul. Your surgeon reviews photographs and your medical history before you book, and you meet in person the day before surgery for examination, marking and consent with a professional interpreter.

• Stop smoking and nicotine at least four weeks before and after surgery; it is the single biggest avoidable cause of wound problems
• Tell the team about every medicine and supplement you take; blood thinners, some herbal products and hormone treatment may need to be paused on your doctor's advice
• Arrange for someone to travel with you or to be reachable, and keep the first days at home free of work and lifting
• Book a changeable return flight; your surgeon confirms when you are fit to fly

Recovery and results

You can use your arm gently at once and should do the shoulder exercises you are shown. Most people manage desk work after 1 to 2 weeks. Pathology takes 7 to 14 days and determines the margins, node status and next steps. Radiotherapy usually begins 4 to 8 weeks after surgery and runs for 1 to 3 weeks daily, sometimes longer, so decide in advance where it will take place. The breast can stay firm, swollen and tender for some months, more so after radiotherapy.

• Back to everyday activity: 1 to 2 weeks
• When results show: Pathology in 1 to 2 weeks
• How long they last: Lifelong follow-up with annual imaging

Safety, risks and revision policy

Serious surgical complications are uncommon. The main issue is whether the first operation is enough.

• Positive margins needing re-excision, in roughly 1 in 5 to 1 in 10 cases, or conversion to mastectomy
• Seroma (fluid collection), bruising or haematoma
• Wound infection
• A dent, asymmetry or change in nipple position, which radiotherapy can accentuate
• Numbness, a cord-like tightness in the armpit, or arm lymphoedema, more likely if many nodes are removed
• Recurrence in the same breast over the years, which is why follow-up imaging continues

Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.

Cost of Lumpectomy (Breast-Conserving Surgery) in Türkiye

Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Lumpectomy (Breast-Conserving Surgery), because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:

• Localisation method and sentinel node mapping
• Simple excision versus oncoplastic reshaping and surgery to the other breast
• Pathology, receptor testing and any genomic tests
• Whether radiotherapy is included in the same centre
• Length of hospital stay

Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.

Frequently Asked Questions