Breast Surgery

The Department of Breast Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University was established on the basis of the former Department of General Surgery. It was the earliest such department established in our city and, to date, is the only specialized institution in the city focused primarily on the treatment of breast tumors and integrating diagnosis, treatment, plastic surgery, scientific research, prevention, and teaching. It is the responsible institution for the Dalian Thyroid and Breast Diagnosis and Treatment Base and is also a branch center of the Liaoning Provincial Breast Cancer Translational Medicine Research Center. The department has a highly qualified staff and a well-structured talent team composed of doctoral and master’s degree holders. It currently has 20 open beds and is an institution authorized to confer master’s degrees in breast surgery at Dalian Medical University.

The department possesses the world’s most advanced full-digital breast imaging system manufactured by the Italian company Giotto, namely a mammography unit; a German-made Nodaofu breast endoscope; high-frequency color Doppler ultrasound; and a series of other modern breast diagnostic and treatment devices. It follows internationally standardized protocols for the diagnosis and treatment of breast tumors. While improving cure rates, it also emphasizes psychological rehabilitation and actively promotes breast reconstruction and a range of breast aesthetic procedures.

The hospital has general and specialist breast outpatient clinics. In recent years, it has completed more than 10,000 breast operations of various types. For breast cancer patients at different stages, it has performed a variety of procedures representing the current level of development in breast surgery, including standard radical mastectomy for breast cancer, modified radical mastectomy preserving the pectoral muscles, radical mastectomy for breast cancer plus immediate breast reconstruction, postmastectomy breast reconstruction, and sentinel lymph node biopsy. Thus, many women with breast cancer can receive locally curative resection while also achieving satisfactory functional and cosmetic outcomes. For benign breast nodules, the department performs fine-needle puncture of breast nodules, small-incision nodule excision, and minimally invasive Mammotome breast nodule excision biopsy. It can perform localization and biopsy of various types of minute breast lesions and has a high rate of early breast cancer diagnosis.

Featured Medical Services

The Department of Breast Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University is a specialized department distinguished by the diagnosis and treatment of various breast diseases. It is a medical and research institution integrating surgical operations, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, pathology, imaging diagnosis, basic medicine, and other disciplines. In addition to conventional breast diagnosis and treatment, the department also has the following distinctive features:

1. Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

The main breast disease diagnostic methods applied clinically by our department include mammographic X-ray imaging, color Doppler ultrasound examination of the breast, breast needle biopsy, magnetic resonance imaging, and breast ductography. By combining palpation, breast color Doppler ultrasound, and mammography, a large number of early cancers with no clinical symptoms or atypical clinical symptoms can be detected. Breast surgeons directly operate the ultrasound and mammography equipment to perform localization, puncture, and other procedures, thereby making timely diagnoses.

2. Breast-Conserving Surgery for Breast Cancer

The concepts of breast cancer treatment have undergone enormous changes. Breast cancer surgery has transitioned from the era of radical and modified radical surgery to the era of breast preservation. Breast-conserving surgery can achieve the same long-term survival rate as radical surgery, while significantly improving patients’ quality of life.

Breast-conserving surgery has strict requirements. It requires a breast surgery team that has received rigorous and standardized training, strict control of the indications and contraindications for breast conservation, strict adherence to operating standards, and a comprehensive adjuvant treatment plan. It also requires good radiotherapy and pathological examination technologies and equipment. Breast cancer patients must strictly follow the breast surgeon’s instructions and undergo standardized treatment.

3. Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy

Sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer is a new technology that has been developed in recent years in developed countries such as those in Europe and the United States. It uses a gamma probe or dye to detect the sentinel lymph nodes of breast cancer. Performing sentinel lymph node biopsy enables clinicians to selectively remove the lymph nodes most likely to be affected by tumor metastasis and to determine further treatment based on the pathological examination results of the sentinel lymph nodes, allowing patients with negative sentinel lymph nodes to avoid axillary lymph node dissection. This technology helps reduce postoperative complications such as upper-limb swelling, lymphatic leakage, and impaired movement of the upper limb. At the same time, the lymph nodes that are not removed can continue to serve as an immune barrier, improving patients’ postoperative quality of life, shortening postoperative hospitalization, and reducing medical costs.

4. Modified Radical Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction

The incidence of breast cancer has increased significantly. Early-stage patients can undergo breast-conserving treatment, but breast-conserving surgery has its indications. For patients who do not meet the criteria for breast-conserving surgery but wish to preserve their breast, our department preserves the nipple and areola during modified radical mastectomy for breast cancer and implants a silicone prosthesis immediately after completion of the resection, thereby reconstructing the breast contour. Patients consequently have a good postoperative chest contour and an improved quality of life. At present, this operation is performed at relatively few institutions in China. Only approximately 4–5 medical institutions in China, including institutions in Beijing and Shanghai, perform this procedure, and the number of cases performed at each is small. Our department was the first in the province to perform this operation.

In addition, depending on the patient’s condition, partial breast reshaping can be performed using transferred latissimus dorsi myofat flaps, serratus anterior myofat flaps, rectus abdominis myofat flaps, and other techniques. By implementing the concept of integrating treatment and plastic surgery, maximum compensation and repair can be achieved, enabling women to regain their health and confidence.

5. Minimally Invasive Surgical Treatment of the Breast

Using minimally invasive surgical equipment such as Mammotome, minimally invasive excision of breast fibroadenomas and benign lesions is performed through an extremely small puncture opening or small incision. In addition, hidden incisions can be used for excision of multiple benign breast tumors and other procedures. Tumors and diseased tissue can be removed with minimal tissue damage, while leaving no surgical scar or only a tiny concealed scar and preserving the breast’s lactation function.

Mammography-guided wire-localized biopsy of abnormal breast calcifications and digital three-dimensional stereotactic localization needle biopsy are of important value in the early detection and definitive diagnosis of breast cancer.

6. Comprehensive Breast Cancer Treatment: “One-Stop Service”

Surgery-centered comprehensive treatment of breast cancer is a distinctive feature and major research focus of our department. Its main measures include breast-conserving treatment for early breast cancer and, for middle- and late-stage breast cancer, comprehensive treatment in the sequence of neoadjuvant chemotherapy → surgery → postoperative chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy, Herceptin-targeted therapy, internal radiotherapy, and other treatment modalities. Some patients can undergo breast reconstruction during the initial operation, enabling large numbers of patients to achieve satisfactory treatment outcomes. This discipline has a professional team consisting of physicians from breast surgery, breast medicine, breast radiotherapy, breast imaging, and pathology. For different disease conditions, it formulates individualized adjuvant treatment plans, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy, molecular targeted therapy, biological immunotherapy, and other approaches. The 5-year postoperative survival rate for stage I and stage II breast cancer has reached an advanced level in China. For breast cancer patients, individualized, standardized, systematic, and humane comprehensive treatment plans are formulated. From hospitalization, surgery, and chemotherapy through post-discharge observation and follow-up, patients remain under the supervision of physicians in the department; from treatment through post-discharge observation and follow-up, they remain under medical supervision. This greatly improves treatment efficacy and survival rates, reaching an advanced level in China.

7. Distinctive Postoperative Rehabilitation Treatment

Attention to postoperative psychological rehabilitation and functional rehabilitation of the affected limb is also a distinctive feature that sets our department apart. The goals of postoperative rehabilitation are achieved mainly through health education, music-based exercises for functional rehabilitation of the affected limb, and equipment training. Through the annual Caring for the Breast Fellowship activities, the department helps breast cancer patients with postoperative psychological rehabilitation.

The center also vigorously conducts breast disease screening and health education. Free medical consultations are held at irregular intervals every year, and these activities are widely welcomed by women.