At Gustave Roussy, breast cancer surgery is not synonymous with mutilation. Aesthetic care and breast reconstruction are fully integrated into the treatment of the disease at every stage.

With more than 2,000 patients undergoing breast cancer surgery each year and nearly 500 breast reconstructions, Gustave Roussy is the leading breast reconstruction center in France. These procedures are performed by the team in the Institute’s Department of Oncological and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery.

For early-stage breast cancer, a partial mastectomy is most often recommended (lumpectomy or quadrantectomy). The surgery removes the tumor along with safety margins to minimize the risk of recurrence.

Surgeons typically use “oncoplastic” breast surgery techniques. These techniques allow for the removal of the tumor while preserving the breast’s natural shape and minimizing secondary deformities.

At Gustave Roussy, patients who require a total removal of the breast (mastectomy) can usually undergo breast reconstruction, either immediately (at the same time as the mastectomy), or delayed (several months after the mastectomy), without any additional fees.

Immediate reconstruction can be offered to the majority of patients, even if additional treatments (radiation therapy, chemotherapy, etc.) are planned, thanks to the expertise of our surgeons and their close collaboration with the Institute’s radiation oncologists and breast specialists. In some cases, it is also possible to preserve the nipple and areola. 

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Reconstruction involves various techniques that use the patient’s own tissue (autologous reconstruction) or a silicone implant. A breast can thus be reconstructed using tissue taken from the abdomen (DIEP or SIEA free abdominal flap), the thighs (gracilis, PAP, or fascia lata flaps), from the back (latissimus dorsi flap), or sometimes with fat harvested via liposuction (lipofilling or autologous fat grafting). Reconstruction using silicone or saline implants is, of course, also performed.

Our team also treats the aftereffects of cancer treatments (breast deformity following lumpectomy, lymphedema of the arm, etc.).

All information on the main techniques for breast cancer surgery, breast reconstruction, and correction of sequelae is available online on the Facebook and YouTube pages of the “Breast Cancer Information” channel.

You can also watch videos on the Gustave Roussy YouTube channel.

Outpatient surgery, or “same-day” surgery, involves a short hospital stay, with the patient returning home on the day of the procedure. This outpatient surgery is performed safely and avoids a prolonged hospital stay.

This type of care has been available for several years at Gustave Roussy for breast surgery, particularly for lumpectomy, sentinel lymph node biopsy, breast implant replacement, or cosmetic procedures such as lipofilling or areola-nipple plate reconstruction.

This approach to hospitalization has demonstrated its advantages in terms of reducing the risk of surgical site infection, high patient satisfaction rates, and the absence of increased risk. It is not mandatory but is offered whenever possible, which is in 20 to 25% of breast surgery cases at Gustave Roussy.

There are four main stages in the outpatient breast surgery process: a preoperative evaluation, the surgical procedure, same-day discharge, and follow-up with the patient within 24 hours. The day after the procedure, a nurse contacts the patient to ensure a smooth postoperative recovery.

This type of surgery also involves educating patients and their families. During the preoperative visit, the nurse will provide the patient with a document outlining the details of her hospital stay.

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