Post-Breast Cancer Surgery
How should a patient be followed up after breast cancer surgery?
Close follow-up of the patient after breast cancer surgery is very valuable. This is because the disease can recur depending on its stage. The earlier the stage, the lower the chance of recurrence.
It is essential for the patient to be seen every three months for the first three years, every six months for the next two years, and once a year from the fifth year onwards. It is greatly beneficial for the patient to be followed up by the surgeon who performed the surgery, and the medical oncologist or radiation oncologist who contributed to the treatment. The follow-up involves both physical examinations, taking certain images (scans), and performing some blood tests. The aim here is to catch a recurrence very early if it occurs.
If a recurrence is caught early, we can prevent it from harming the patient. In breast cancer today, if a patient presents at an early stage and receives appropriate and adequate treatment, almost as good results can be obtained as if they were living a normal life. Therefore, performing this surgery in a suitable environment, in a suitable manner, in the best hands, and selecting and applying the most appropriate treatments after surgery will very seriously affect the patient’s future.
What are the possible complications after breast cancer surgery?
Breast cancer surgery is a serious surgery and, like any major surgery, carries some risks of complications. For example, bleeding, infection, hematoma (blood accumulation in the wound area), swelling in the arm, limitation of movement in the arm, and long-term limitation in arm movements can occur. Therefore, the more meticulous the surgery is performed, the lower the likelihood of these occurring.
Bleeding After Breast Cancer Surgery
Bleeding is a significant complication in breast cancer surgery. It can occur in the early postoperative period. It is necessary to determine whether the patient is using blood thinners. If this is not the case, the meticulousness of the surgery to be performed is of great importance. Extreme care must be taken during the operation to stop bleeding. If this care is not taken, postoperative bleeding, and later blood accumulations called hematomas, may occur in the patient. It is possible to reduce this possibility with careful surgery.
Infection After Breast Cancer Surgery
Infection is not a very common occurrence in breast cancer surgeries. Generally, the environment in which the surgery is performed is very important. The cleanliness of the hospital and operating room environment affects this outcome. The cleaner and more sterile the conditions, the lower the probability of such a situation occurring. The reason for being wary of infection is that if an infection develops, it can lead to abscess formation and impair wound healing. This can prolong the patient’s recovery period and delay subsequent treatments. Therefore, it is very important that the operating room conditions are very clean. In addition to this, prophylactic antibiotics can also be given to the patient.
Lymphedema (Arm Swelling) After Breast Cancer Surgery
After breast cancer surgery, some complications can occur, either early or late. Among these, the most serious one to consider is arm swelling, which is called lymphedema.
In the early period, that is, shortly after surgery, swelling may be normal. This can be drained with a syringe, and after a few drainages, it can completely resolve. This is especially a situation related to performing surgery from the armpit area. However, in the long term, if surgery has been performed from the armpit, and radiation therapy is added on top of it, swelling in the arm can occur in one out of every five patients at some point in their lives. The reason for this is that the lymph fluid in the arm cannot drain, and this swelling can increase over time to the extent that it restricts the person’s arm movements.
Since it is easier to prevent lymphedema than to treat it, it is very valuable not to perform axillary (armpit) surgery unnecessarily extensively, but to keep it limited as much as possible. The decision for radiotherapy should also be made very carefully.
