Breast Surgery

Breast Surgery services offered in Wildomar, Temecula, Hemet and Corona, CA

Breast surgery is often associated with cosmetic procedures or to treat cancer, but other noncancerous conditions also require surgical treatment. The skilled surgeons at Murrieta Valley Surgery Associates have helped many women overcome breast conditions with minimally invasive techniques. For breast cancer, the surgeons collaborate with your medical team to ensure you receive the best course of care. If you have symptoms like breast pain, tenderness, or a noticeable growth, book an appointment online or call the office in Wildomar, Temecula, Hemet, or Corona, California, right away.

Breast Surgery Q & A

When would I need breast surgery?

Breast surgery is essential to remove a cancerous tumor. And you may make a personal choice to have breast surgery for cosmetic reasons. However, Murrieta Valley Surgery Associates specializes in breast surgery to treat noncancerous and cancerous medical conditions.

What noncancerous conditions need breast surgery?

You can develop several benign breast conditions that cause symptoms, including pain, swelling, nipple discharge, and noncancerous lumps.

These are a few examples of benign breast conditions.

Fibrocystic breast changes

Thickened breast tissues (fibrosis) make your breasts feel dense, lumpy, and tender, usually occurring when hormones change before menstruation.

Cysts

Nearly one-fourth of all breast lumps are benign, fluid-filled cysts that may disappear without treatment.

Fibroadenomas

Fibroadenomas, the most common benign breast tumors, are round or oval-shaped, typically marble-sized, and usually painless.

Most don’t raise your risk for breast cancer. However, a complex fibroadenoma (one with other unusual changes) slightly increases your chance of developing cancer.

Hyperplasia

Breast hyperplasia is an excessive growth of cells in the mammary glands or ducts. These growths don’t produce a lump you can feel. Some types of atypical hyperplasia make you more likely to develop breast cancer.

Intraductal papilloma

Intraductal papilloma causes wart-like growths inside the mammary ducts near the nipples, often causing a nipple discharge. Your cancer risk increases if you have several tiny growths at the same time.

Mastitis

Mastitis is inflamed breast tissue that may (or may not) be infected and causes swelling, pain, and redness. Breast-feeding women are most likely to have mastitis, but it also appears in women who aren’t breast-feeding, and in men.

What type of breast surgery might I need?

The treatment you need depends on the underlying breast condition. Mastitis usually improves with antibiotics, but sometimes, an abscess develops. Then, your Murrieta Valley Surgery Associates provider drains the pus by surgery or aspiration (using a hollow needle to withdraw the pus).

Your provider also treats cysts, whether alone or associated with fibrocystic breast disease, with surgery to remove the cyst or a needle aspiration to drain it.

What type of breast surgery do I need for breast cancer?

For breast cancer, Murrieta Valley Surgery Associates uses different procedures based on the size of the growth and cancer type.

The surgeons may perform a sentinel lymph node biopsy if there’s concern that the cancer has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized). During this procedure, they remove one or more lymph nodes closest to the lesion and send it to the pathology lab for testing.

Surgical procedures for breast cancer include:

Excisional breast biopsy
Breast-conserving surgery or lumpectomy
Mastectomy

The surgeons collaborate with your medical team when creating your surgical plan.

Call Murrieta Valley Surgery Associates today or use online booking to schedule a consultation for breast surgery.

What is a sentinel lymph node?

A sentinel lymph node is defined as the first lymph node to which cancer cells are most likely to spread from a primary tumor. Sometimes, there can be more than one sentinel lymph node.

What is a sentinel lymph node biopsy?

A sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a procedure in which the sentinel lymph node is identified, removed, and examined to determine whether cancer cells are present. It is used in people who have already been diagnosed with cancer.

A negative SLNB result suggests that cancer has not yet spread to nearby lymph nodes or other organs.

A positive SLNB result indicates that cancer is present in the sentinel lymph node and that it may have spread to other nearby lymph nodes (called regional lymph nodes) and, possibly, other organs. This information can help a doctor determine the stage of the cancer (extent of the disease within the body) and develop an appropriate treatment plan.