What Is Breast Keyhole Surgery and Post-Operative Care?

1. Melaniebreastspecialist.com What Is Breast Keyhole Surgery and Post-Operative Care? Breast keyhole surgery is used either for the removal of cancerous tissue in the breast or for the reduction of heavy breasts. While cancer removal surgery is a necessity, the latter is an elective choice. Who is it best for and how it is done? The keyhole breast surgery for cancer removal is ideal for patients who have small breast sizes. On the other hand, surgery for the reduction of the breast is best for women who have heavy breasts. This is an invasive procedure in which an incision is made at the bottom of the areola and the cancerous tissue is removed with a procedure like liposuction. In the keyhole breast surgery, the stalk of the nipple is left intact. Although some surgeons resize the nipple, the areola is not touched. Even after this surgery, the sensation in the breasts remains the same as before. Keyhole breast surgery is usually an outpatient procedure which takes about 1.5 to 3 hours. The surgery is done keeping the patient under general anaesthesia but catheterisation is rarely done. Post-operative care for patients undergoing this surgery As mentioned above breast keyhole surgery is a rather simple procedure, but just like any invasive surgery the patients need to take precautions. After surgery, the surgeon sometimes leaves the patients with two drainage pipes. These are small tubing that lines the length of the incisions under the skin. This tubing exits through a small incision under the arms and a reservoir bag is attached to them. These reservoirs collect the extra blood and lymphatic fluid that flows out of the incisions. These drains are usually left in place for up to a week and the reservoir bag has to be emptied several times a day by the patients themselves or by an attendant. Some surgeons also suggest the patient wear a binder for compression for some time. If done by an expert surgeon the keyhole breast surgery is a good option for cancer patients as well as those who want their breast size to be reduced.