Breast Medicine

The Breast Medicine Department of Dongguan People's Hospital was established in 2002 and is one of the earliest breast specialty departments founded in Guangdong Province. When the department was set up, specialised diagnosis and treatment of breast diseases in China was still in its initial stage; the founding of the specialty filled a gap in the field of breast specialty care in Dongguan and was of pioneering significance for the diagnosis and treatment of breast diseases in the Dongguan area. After more than 20 years of in-depth development, the discipline has grown from a single disease diagnosis and treatment unit into a large distinctive specialty integrating breast disease diagnosis and treatment, research, teaching, prevention, health care, rehabilitation and follow-up. Relying on a deep academic foundation and continuous technical innovation, the discipline holds a leading position in the development of the breast discipline in Dongguan, has outstanding academic influence and a good public reputation in the Pearl River Delta and even across the province, and is a core centre for the standardised diagnosis and treatment of breast diseases in Dongguan.

Over the years, the clinical level, discipline development and humanistic services of the department have advanced together, and it has won a number of significant landmark honours and platform qualifications. In 2019 it was recognised as a Dongguan municipal clinical key specialty, establishing its leading position in breast care in the city. In the same year it received the honorary titles "Youth Civilisation Unit" (qingnian wenminghao) and "Women's Civilisation Post" (jinguo wenminggang), demonstrating not only the department's solid professional strength but also its warm humanistic service and excellent team culture. In 2021, on the strength of its solid clinical expertise and high-quality care experience, it was successfully selected for the "Guangdong Province Hospital Strongest Departments Recommendation" list, receiving authoritative provincial recognition. In 2023 it was approved to establish the Dongguan Key Laboratory for Precision Diagnosis, Treatment and Rehabilitation of Breast Tumours, achieving a leap forward in its research level and in its ability to translate clinical results, laying a solid foundation for high-level basic research and clinical translational research, and moving the discipline from a purely clinical advantage to a new "clinical + research" dual-driver model of high-quality development. In 2024 it was officially inaugurated as the first breast disease diagnosis and treatment centre in Dongguan, integrating multidisciplinary resources and fully implementing one-stop, integrated diagnosis and treatment services for breast diseases.

I. Discipline scale and talent echelon

The department runs two breast wards, at the Honglou campus and the Puji campus, with 75 open beds. Its medical and nursing team currently numbers 56, with a clearly structured talent echelon and strong professional and technical capability: 5 Chief Physicians, 14 Associate Chief Physicians and Associate Chief Nurses in total; 2 postdoctoral researchers, 3 doctoral candidates currently enrolled and 12 with master's-level education.

The department head and core members hold important positions in national, provincial and municipal academic organisations in the breast field. The department has also taken the lead in establishing four municipal-level professional societies and serves as the chair unit of: the Breast Tumour Prevention and Treatment Committee of the Guangdong Society of Organ Medicine and Technology, the Breast Disease Branch of the Dongguan Medical Association, the Breast Cancer Committee of the Dongguan Anti-Cancer Association, and the Breast Tumour Endoscopy and Robotic Surgery Committee of the Dongguan Anti-Cancer Association.

Clinical diagnosis and treatment and research advance in parallel. In recent years the department has led more than ten projects, including National Natural Science Foundation of China projects and provincial and municipal vertical research projects, and as a core investigator at a sub-centre has undertaken more than ten international and domestic multicentre clinical trials. It has published a cumulative total of more than 100 academic papers in SCI-indexed journals and Chinese core journals. The department's average annual outpatient volume, annual number of inpatients and number of surgical procedures consistently rank among the highest in the province, and its comprehensive diagnostic and treatment capability is widely recognised by peers in the field and by patients.

II. Diagnosis and treatment features and technical advantages

The department takes early screening and early diagnosis of breast cancer and standardised, individualised and precision whole-course diagnosis and treatment as its core development direction, and provides whole-course disease management including neoadjuvant therapy for breast cancer, perioperative and surgical treatment, postoperative adjuvant therapy for breast cancer, functional rehabilitation treatment and lifelong follow-up. It performs the complete range of standard operations for breast diseases, covering standard radical mastectomy for breast cancer, modified radical mastectomy, simple mastectomy, breast-conserving surgery, sentinel lymph node biopsy, axillary lymph node dissection, one-stage/two-stage (immediate/delayed) oncoplastic breast reconstruction for breast cancer, therapeutic reduction mammaplasty for macromastia, surgical treatment of gynaecomastia, and minimally invasive vacuum-assisted excision of benign breast tumours, among others. At the same time, the department routinely provides integrated traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine diagnosis and treatment for benign breast diseases and chronic mastitis. It is committed to building eight core featured technology systems:

(1) Precision minimally invasive and function-preserving surgery

1. Fluorescence plus methylene blue dual-tracer sentinel lymph node biopsy The department was the first to carry out this dual-tracer technique, combining fluorescence vascular imaging with methylene blue staining for dual localisation, greatly improving the accuracy of sentinel lymph node detection. For breast cancer patients with lymph node-negative disease, axillary dissection can be safely omitted, fundamentally reducing the risk of complications such as postoperative upper-limb oedema and restricted movement, and fully preserving the physiological function of the affected limb.

2. Minimally invasive vacuum-assisted excision of breast masses The department is equipped with a complete set of minimally invasive vacuum-assisted excision systems. Under real-time ultrasound guidance, benign breast lesions can be completely removed, or biopsy of early suspicious lesions completed, through only a tiny 3-5 mm needle-hole incision. The procedure involves minimal trauma, a short recovery period and no obvious scar on the body surface afterwards; it is known as the breast "keyhole" minimally invasive procedure. The department has performed a cumulative total of more than 10,000 such procedures, and its technical level is in a leading position in the province.

(2) Breast plastic surgery and reconstruction techniques The department adheres to the principle of "treating disease and preserving beauty in parallel", and maturely performs various highly difficult breast repair and reconstruction operations, taking into account both radical tumour treatment and body aesthetics, comprehensively improving patients' postoperative quality of life.

1. Oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery Different from conventional mass excision, it uses glandular tissue transfer for filling and volume-replacement plastic techniques, completely removing the tumour while reshaping the natural form of the breast; the department's breast-conserving rate has remained stable over the years within the advanced range of 30%-50%, allowing patients to achieve both cure of the disease and preservation of appearance.

2. Single-port endoscopic breast reconstruction A benchmark technique in the minimally invasive field: routinely performed is single-port transaxillary nipple- and areola-sparing subcutaneous total glandectomy plus implant-based breast reconstruction. There is no surgical scar on the chest at any point; on the basis of complete removal of the diseased gland, the breast is reconstructed with an implant or autologous tissue, offering the multiple advantages of minimal trauma, rapid recovery and natural aesthetic results.

3. Free deep inferior epigastric perforator flap breast reconstruction (DIEP) A top-level autologous reconstruction technique that uses the patient's surplus abdominal skin and fat tissue to reshape the breast; the form is soft and natural and the ptotic feel matches that of the native breast, and the operation does not damage the abdominal muscles. It is the preferred option for patients seeking an implant-free, natural breast shape.

(3) Supermicrosurgical lymphaticovenular anastomosis (LVA) for lymphoedema after breast cancer surgery The department has introduced frontier supermicrosurgical technology. Using a high-magnification operating microscope, lymphatic vessels obstructed after surgery or radiotherapy are finely anastomosed to superficial veins, creating an entirely new physiological lymphatic return channel and unblocking accumulated lymph fluid. Compared with traditional conservative treatment, this operation resolves limb oedema at its pathological root, greatly improving the limb's motor function, and fills a gap in surgical radical treatment technology for lymphoedema in the region.

(4) Individualised precision comprehensive treatment of breast cancer A comprehensive multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment system has been established, strictly following stratified treatment by molecular subtype of breast cancer and implementing full-cycle disease management: on the basis of the molecular subtype of the breast cancer and genetic testing results, integrated individualised regimens combining neoadjuvant chemotherapy, targeted therapy, endocrine therapy and immunotherapy are customised for patients. The department holds GCP qualification in the breast specialty and undertakes multiple international and domestic multicentre clinical studies of new anti-tumour drugs, providing frontier innovative treatment options for patients with refractory breast cancer.

(5) Integrated traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine featured therapy for non-lactational mastitis For non-lactational breast inflammations that are prone to recurrence and difficult to treat, such as plasma cell mastitis and granulomatous mastitis, the department departs from the single antibiotic treatment model and, relying on the TCM system of syndrome differentiation and treatment, combines low-frequency pulsed physiotherapy, infrared physiotherapy and minimally invasive lesion clearance in coordinated treatment - which, as the department states, effectively raises the clinical cure rate, lowers the long-term risk of recurrence and maximally preserves the intact shape of the breast.

(6) Full-process high-precision breast diagnosis system Relying on the hospital's municipal key specialty imaging, ultrasound and pathology platforms, the department has built a precision early-cancer screening and diagnosis chain: it performs mammography/ultrasound-guided wire-localisation biopsy, accurately detecting impalpable microcalcifications and occult non-mass lesions, significantly raising the detection rate of early breast cancers such as ductal carcinoma in situ; it routinely performs contrast-enhanced breast ultrasound and blood-oxygen functional imaging, using haemodynamic characteristics to distinguish benign from malignant lesions and providing objective functional evidence for surgical planning; standardised pathological diagnosis and a full panel of genetic tests for breast tumours are provided alongside, laying a solid diagnostic foundation for precision treatment.

(7) Multidisciplinary team (MDT) diagnosis and treatment of breast diseases Relying on the city's only breast disease diagnosis and treatment centre platform, the department conducts regular joint MDT consultations for complex cases such as difficult breast cancer, breast cancer in young patients, and recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. Experts from breast surgery, medical oncology, pathology, radiology, ultrasound, rehabilitation and the reproductive medicine centre jointly assess cases in order to customise the optimal standardised and individualised comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plan for each patient.

(8) Postoperative rehabilitation and full-cycle patient case management

1. Specialised lymphoedema rehabilitation intervention Dedicated lymphoedema therapists are in place, and a lymphoedema clinic is run on a regular basis. Patients after breast cancer surgery receive dedicated screening and graded assessment, and individualised rehabilitation plans are developed using CDT (complete decongestive therapy) comprehensive decongestion treatment; standardised guidance on functional exercise of the affected limb, home rehabilitation follow-up and complication prevention and control are provided, precisely implementing full-course rehabilitation intervention for postoperative patients.

2. Lifelong case follow-up and humanistic support Lifelong health records are established for all patients seen at the department; doctor-patient exchange activities, breast health education, rehabilitation exercise instruction and psychological support are organised on a regular basis, covering the whole course from inpatient treatment to return to family and society, providing long-term warm support for patients with breast diseases.

III. Research, teaching and public welfare social responsibility

Research and innovation have yielded abundant results. The department has won 5 provincial and municipal science and technology progress awards and completed the National Natural Science Foundation Young Scientists Fund project and more than ten provincial and municipal research projects; it continues to participate as a sub-centre in national and province-wide multicentre clinical studies of breast tumours; it hosts national and provincial continuing medical education programmes every year, promoting standardised breast diagnosis and treatment techniques to grassroots physicians in eastern and western Guangdong and leading the standardised development of the breast specialty in the region.

The department actively fulfils the public welfare mission of a public hospital, routinely carrying out city-wide free screening for the "two cancers" (breast cancer and cervical cancer), community free clinics, and breast health education activities at the grassroots level. The patient mutual-support platform "Aikang Association" (Aikanghui), established under the department's leadership in 2012, has for more than ten years continued to provide a platform for rehabilitation exchange and mutual psychological support for patients with breast diseases, safeguarding patients' physical and mental health with the warmth of medical care, and has been widely praised by all sectors of society.