Diseases of the Breast

Throughout his career, Dr. Smith has been involved in the care of diseases of both the male and female breast. Cancer of the female breast remains the second leading cause of female mortality in this country. Breast cancer is succeeded only by heart disease in causing more women’s deaths every year. Thankfully, with the advent of mammography, ultrasonography, and now MRI, female breast cancer is being diagnosed and treatment begun at a much earlier stage in the disease than 20 years ago. Dr. Smith has been witness to the development of less and less radical procedures for the treatment of female breast cancer. He is well accustomed to doing both breast conserving surgery i.e. lumpectomy and whole breast radiation as well as mastectomies when they are indicated. He is well trained and performs sentinel lymph node biopsies in cases where a biopsy of the axillary lymph nodes is indicated. Sentinel lymph node biopsies prevents the removal of normal lymph nodes from the axillary region and thereby decreases the development of lymphedema, swelling of the arm, after breast cancer surgery. During the past five years a nationwide study has been under way regarding partial breast irradiation. Dr. Smith is also trained and is now performing lumpectomies with partial breast irradiation (Mammosite Procedure).

For patient’s who meet the appropriate criteria partial breast radiation can be accomplished in five days and allows the patient to maintain the cosmetic integrity of her breast. Dr. Smith’s breast practice also allows him to perform ultrasound guided vacuum assisted

(Mammotome) breast biopsies in his office. The trend across the country is for less and less invasive breast surgery to be performed and these ultrasound vacuum assisted biopsies may be done through a quarter inch incision in the office under local anesthetic as an outpatient. Some small lesions of the breast can totally be removed using this technique.

Along with staying up to date in the latest techniques in the surgical treatment of Breast Cancer, Dr. Smith and his staff provide a kind, compassionate, and understanding atmosphere where the patient and their family can feel safe and secure.

Additional Information:

Benign disease of the breast can incorporate such findings as fibrocystic changes of the female breast and gynecomastia of the male breast. Both of these conditions represent a form of “mastitis” that can cause enlargement and tenderness of the breast tissue. In the female breast, if a cyst becomes large and painful, needle aspiration of the cysts is necessary to confirm the cystic diagnosis and to alleviate the pain. The ideology of male gynecomastia often time remains unknown but sometimes surgical resection of the affected tissue is needed.

The average number of newly diagnosed male breast cancer patients is slightly less than 1% of that reported from female breast cancer. Male breast cancer should be suspected in any patient who has a unilateral breast mass. Male patient’s can obtain mammograms, ultrasounds, and MRIs just like female patients do.

There are numerous different types of breast cancer but most breast cancers can be defined as either being ductal, meaning that they arise in the breast ductal system; or lobular, meaning that they arise in the breast lobular system. Each type of cancer can be defined as either In-Situ, meaning that it has been caught at an early stage and is less likely to spread to other areas of the body; or invasive or infiltrating carcinomas that show microscopic invasion of tissues surrounding the lobules and ducts. This form of carcinoma can spread to lymph nodes or other areas of the body.

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