A PICTORIAL REVIEW OF ONCOPLASTIC & RECONSTRUCTIVE BREAST SURGERY

Oncoplastic surgery (OPS) of the breast has revolutionised the surgical practice in the past few years worldwide and has become an integral part of the breast cancer surgical treatment. OPS blends the principals of good local oncological control with plastic surgery techniques for immediate breast reshaping to provide best cosmetic results as well as oncological safety. It helps in extending the boundaries of breast-conservation treatment to include a group of patients who would otherwise require mastectomy to achieve complete excision of the tumour. OPS is a broad concept that can be used for several different combinations of oncological breast-conserving surgery and reconstructive surgery in the form of breast re-shaping/re-modelling. Careful patient selection and pre-operative planning are key components for the success of any OPS operation for breast cancer. Thorough surgical planning is mandatory including clinical assessment and breast measurements with reference to tumour/breast volume ratios. Mastectomy and total breast reconstruction are an option for patients that cannot have breast conservation. In this article, we provide a pictorial review of various oncoplastic and reconstructive breast operations, explaining the indications, essential principles, concepts and techniques of various surgical procedures.Key words: Breast cancer, oncoplastic surgery, breast reconstructio