Breast Cancer Surgery & Treatment

QUICK ANSWER

Breast cancer surgery removes cancerous tissue from the breast. The two main types are breast-conserving surgery, which takes out the tumour and a margin of surrounding tissue, and mastectomy, which removes the whole breast and can include immediate reconstruction. The right option depends on the tumour, the breast, and what matters to the patient.

A breast cancer diagnosis raises two questions almost immediately: what will treatment involve, and can the breast be kept. Surgery is usually the central step, often combined with other treatments to lower the risk of the cancer returning. At Melanie Seah Breast Specialist in Singapore, Dr Melanie Seah, a Consultant Breast Surgeon, sets out the options and agrees a plan with each patient. This page covers the types of surgery, whether the breast can be conserved, and what recovery looks like.

What are the types of breast cancer surgery?

Breast cancer surgery falls into two broad approaches: removing part of the breast, or removing all of it. Dr Melanie Seah, a Consultant Breast Surgeon in Singapore, performs breast-conserving surgery using oncoplastic techniques as well as each of the mastectomy options below.

Lumpectomy or wide excision

Removes the tumour and a rim of normal tissue. The surrounding breast tissue is reshaped to close the gap left behind. This is breast-conserving surgery.

Mastectomy

Removes all of the breast tissue. The wound is closed with stitches, so there is no open wound after surgery.

Skin-sparing mastectomy

Removes the breast tissue but keeps the skin envelope, with breast reconstruction following immediately using an implant or a tissue flap.

Nipple-sparing mastectomy

As above, with the nipple preserved as well. Suitable when the cancer is not near the nipple and breast shape and size allow, and a minimally invasive approach using endoscopic surgery may at times be possible.

Risk-reducing mastectomy

Removes a breast before cancer develops. Considered for women at high risk, such as those carrying the BRCA gene.

Axillary lymph node surgery

Sentinel lymph node biopsy or clearance, carried out alongside breast surgery to establish whether the cancer has spread.

Where a lump has not yet been diagnosed, a breast biopsy comes first, and most breast lumps turn out not to be cancer. Removal of a benign lump is handled as breast lump removal rather than cancer surgery.

keep-breast

Can I keep my breast?

Often, yes. When breast cancer is found early it is usually small, so it is possible to remove only the affected part and conserve the breast. Even when a tumour is larger, treatment given before surgery — neoadjuvant therapy — can shrink it enough to make conservation possible.

Other areas of tumour, breast size and the need for radiotherapy all influence the decision. Dr Melanie Seah discusses these individually with each patient at the Singapore clinic rather than applying a default.

What are the other forms of breast cancer treatment?

Surgery is often combined with other treatments to lower the risk of the cancer returning. These are decided by a multidisciplinary team, and Dr Melanie Seah coordinates them alongside surgery at the Singapore clinic.

TREATMENTWHAT IT ISHOW IT IS GIVEN
ChemotherapyMedication that targets cancer cells throughout the body.Injected into a vein or

taken as tablets, in cycles.

Radiation therapyHigh-energy rays, most often X-rays, that treat cancer cells remaining in the breast area.Delivered in sessions over

several weeks after

surgery.

Hormonal therapyBlocks or reduces the hormones some breast cancers need to grow.

Tamoxifen blocks access to those hormones; aromatase inhibitors reduce

how much the body produces.

Oral tablets, usually taken

for several years.

after-surgery

What happens after breast cancer surgery?

Recovery and follow-up are planned around the patient rather than handed off. This can include physiotherapy to restore shoulder and arm movement, wound management, and regular review with imaging where appropriate.

At Melanie Seah Breast Specialist in Singapore, the team supports recovery with physiotherapy and wound management, arranged as part of the same pathway as the operation itself rather than referred out afterwards. Where a mastectomy was needed, breast reconstruction is planned alongside it.

  • Post-surgery physiotherapy and shoulder mobility exercises
  • Lymphoedema, or arm swelling, management
  • Wound care and scar review
  • Scheduled follow-up with imaging where appropriate

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — a breast lump should be assessed before any decision about removal. Assessment usually combines clinical examination, imaging (ultrasound or mammogram) and, where needed, a core biopsy to establish what the lump is. Most breast lumps are not cancer, but only assessment can confirm that. At Melanie Seah Breast Specialist in Singapore, Dr Melanie Seah reviews the results and advises whether removal, treatment or simple monitoring is the right next step.

Often, yes — this is called immediate reconstruction, carried out at the same time as the cancer operation. Because Melanie Seah Breast Specialist works with a plastic surgeon, breast cancer surgery and reconstruction can be planned as one procedure rather than across separate clinics. Whether immediate reconstruction suits you depends on the cancer itself, whether radiotherapy is planned, and your general health. The team discusses all of this with you before surgery is scheduled.

After breast surgery the Singapore clinic provides physiotherapy and wound management. Physiotherapists guide post-surgery exercises that restore shoulder and arm movement and help manage lymphoedema, or arm swelling, while wound care and follow-up review are arranged as part of the same pathway. Coordinating surgery, reconstruction and rehabilitation through one team means recovery is planned from the outset rather than organised separately once treatment has finished.

Progress is monitored throughout and after treatment. Surgery shows whether the cancer was removed with clear margins, while blood tests, physical examination and imaging — ultrasound, mammogram or MRI — track the response. After treatment, regular follow-ups with Dr Melanie Seah, scheduled imaging and, where appropriate, tumour-marker blood tests continue. Report any new symptom promptly so it can be checked quickly rather than waiting for the next appointment.

Care extends well beyond the operation itself. Melanie Seah Breast Specialist provides physiotherapy for post-surgery recovery, wound-management support and access to counselling, with a multidisciplinary team working together on each case. In practice that means help with movement, lymphoedema and wound healing running alongside medical treatment, coordinated through one clinic rather than arranged separately after treatment finishes.

Considering breast surgery or treatment?

Book a consultation with Dr Melanie Seah, Consultant Breast Surgeon in Singapore, to discuss your diagnosis, the surgical options open to you, and what recovery would involve.

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