Articles related to BREAST SURGERY

With expert-led sessions encompassing a broad spectrum of breast disease management, from genetic risk assessment to cutting-edge oncological treatments, the course is a great opportunity to fortify your practice and enhance patient care.

The potential removal of the DIEP flap’s unique medical billing code by CMS could pose significant barriers to this beneficial breast reconstruction option, prompting calls for its preservation to ensure continued access and patient choice. Dive in to explore the implications of this pivotal issue for breast cancer patients and the health care system.

As we continue to improve the sensitivity of breast imaging, the need for surgical excision of benign proliferative lesions diagnosed on core needle biopsy remains a contentious topic, calling for careful examination of acceptable excision thresholds, patient preferences, and potential disparities in care.

The imminent CMS coding changes, leading to massive pay cuts, threaten to significantly reduce the availability of DIEP flap breast reconstruction, a procedure renowned for its superior patient outcomes. The potential repercussions, such as increased health disparities and a loss of specialized surgical skills, underscore the urgent need for policy reconsideration.

The video features an interview with Dr. Jason Mouabbi, a surgical oncologist, who discusses the management of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), a type of breast cancer that is less common than other types. He explains that ILC is more challenging to diagnose than other breast cancers because it does not form a lump, but rather spreads in a linear fashion throughout the breast tissue. Dr. Mouabbi highlights the importance of early detection and screening for ILC. He then discusses the treatment options for ILC, which may include surgery, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy. He emphasizes the need for personalized treatment plans for each patient based on their specific case and individual needs. Dr. Mouabbi also talks about the potential role of neoadjuvant therapy in improving outcomes for patients with ILC. Overall, the video provides valuable insights into the management of ILC and highlights the importance of early detection and personalized treatment plans.

The National Cancer Database analysis highlights the difficulty in identifying a single time point before which primary surgery should be completed in patients with breast cancer. There were two major findings: (1) 12% of patients who had surgery more than 8 weeks after diagnosis had significantly lower overall survival, and (2) patients with lower socioeconomic status had a longer time to surgery.