Low Cost Mastectomy Surgery Abroad

Mastectomy is a surgical procedure which involves the complete or partial removal of either, one or both the breasts. The procedure is commonly used for the management of carcinomas of the breast. As per available statistics, it is the second most common cancer among women in the United States, however it also attributes to one percent of cancer related deaths in males. There are several different techniques of conducting a mastectomy depending upon the extent of tissue removed and the removal of surrounding structures like lymph nodes and muscles. Medical tourism destinations across the world provide cost effective and good quality of services in management of breast cancer. The destinations for conducting mastectomy abroad include Mexico, India, Turkey, Jordan and South Korea, which have physical infrastructure of international repute and highly trained medical teams.

When is Mastectomy needed?

Women in early stages of breast cancer can choose the type of surgical procedure which could be either Mastectomy or Breast sparing surgeries along with radiation therapy. However, surgical intervention is inevitable. Breast cancers affect different parts of the breast namely the ducts, the lobules or the intermediate tissue between the lobules. The classification of breast cancer depends upon their nature i.e. non-invasive, invasive, recurrent or metastatic cancers.

Assessment and Evaluation of Breast Cancer, before performing a mastectomy

For evaluation of carcinoma of the breast, the most common approach is the triple assessment method, based on the extent of invasive nature of the procedure.

• The first stage involves detailed history taking and clinical examination of the patient. The assessment is made in order to check for symptoms like the presence of a lump or change in the contour of the breast, inversion of the nipple, dilatation of veins, or ulceration and discoloration of the skin. Based on the assessment of this stage the patient is subjected to the next stage of evaluation.
• Breast Cancer imaging is the next stage in the assessment of carcinoma of the breast. The imaging tools include Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Ultrasonography (USG), Mammography or Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan).
• Final assessment involves a Breast Biopsy

Mastectomy Procedures:

The mastectomy procedure would depend upon the size, type, location and the nature of the breast cancer. Some of the commonly used procedures are,

• Simple or total mastectomy: The procedure involves the removal of the entire breast tissue while sparing the surrounding structures like the lymph nodes and chest and axillary muscles. Occasionally the first axillary lymph node is removed, especially when metastasis has taken place.
• Lumpectomy: In the early stages of breast cancer, with minimal possibility of metastasis only the tumor and some amount of surrounding tissue are removed.
• Radical Mastectomy: This procedure involves the complete removal of breast tissue, the axillary lymph nodes and the chest muscles (i.e. pectoralis major and pectoralis minor), which are located behind the breast.
• Modified Radical Mastectomy: As a variant of the conventional radical procedure, the pectoralis muscles are spared. This reduces the extent of disfiguration that occurs due to radical mastectomy.
• Skin sparing Mastectomy: In this procedure, a small incision is made around the nipple, to remove the breast tissue. This allows subsequent breast reconstruction surgeries and reduces the extent of disfiguration of the breast. However it cannot be used in cases of the cancers which involve the skin tissue.

Further depending upon the extent of breast tissue removed the procedures can be classified as,

• Quadrantectomy: Removal of one quadrant of the breast tissue
• Segmental Mastectomy: Removal of tumor tissue with surrounding breast tissue and the lining over the chest muscle.

Survival Rate after Mastectomy:

As per the American Cancer Society, survival rate after mastectomy primarily depends on the stage at which the cancer was detected and the surgery was performed. The five year relative survival rate tends to reduce drastically as the stage of cancer and its spread expands. In Grade IV breast cancers (where the metastatic tumor has spread to other tissues like the brain, liver, lungs, etc along with involving lymph nodes around the breast); the five year survival rate is as low as 20%. However for Grade I breast cancers (where the tumor is limited to the breast tissue with no involvement of the surrounding lymph nodes) the five year survival rate is about 100%.

Care after Mastectomy:

• For about 48 hours after the procedure, the patient will experience substantial amount of pain which eases as each day passes by. Raising the hand above the head needs to be absolutely avoided as it stretches the incision and causes extreme pain
• After the surgery patient is expected to refrain for any form of physical exertion which includes running or lifting weights.
• Depression is inevitable consequence of the procedure and it tends to result in fatigue and tiredness, making recovery difficult. Depression needs to be handled carefully considering that it would interfere with the ability of the patient to make correct decisions.
• The individual can return to a normal sex life, after about 6-8 weeks of the procedure provided no complications of the surgery have been identified.
• Depending upon the severity of the malignancy, the individual may be required to undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy as required after the surgery.

Mastectomy in India

India has highly trained and specialized oncologists, to provide comprehensive care to patients from abroad. India is consistently improving its infrastructure and quality of care to match international standards with the objective of attracting a high percentage of medical tourists.

Mastectomy in Mexico:

Mexico also provides low cost and good quality of oncology services to medical tourists. It is preferred due to its propinquity to the United States. With several hospitals having the Joint Commission International accreditation, it provides medical tourists an opportunity to select from a long list of hospitals.

Mastectomy in Turkey:

Competitive prices, proximity to Europe and a strong and well developed healthcare infrastructure give Turkey an advantage in Medical travel care. With a strong repute in the Middle East as a booming healthcare destination, Turkey is one of the preferred destination for medical care travel.

Mastectomy in Jordan:

The volume of medical tourists to Jordan has increased exponentially over the past year, which has reinstated the country’s commitment in providing good quality of care at low prices.

Mastectomy in South Korea:

With trained and experienced medical professionals, South Korea is focusing exclusively on promoting medical travel for oncology services. The country gives its medical tourists the advantage of, cost, quality, and infrastructure of international repute.

Resources:

Cyberknife in India
Cyberknife at Anadolu Medical Center, Turkey
Chemotherapy Treatment (CHOP) Abroad
Cyberknife Cancer Radiotherapy Overseas
Radical Gastrectomy Surgery Abroad

Medical Tourism Corporation facilitates affordable Mastectomy Surgery in Europe (Turkey) and other overseas world-class oncology treatment destinations.