(HealthDay News) – Twenty percent of women who undergo breast conserving surgery in England undergo reoperation, which is significantly more likely for women with carcinoma in situ vs isolated invasive disease, according to a study published July 12 in BMJ.

Ranjeet Jeevan, from the Royal College of Surgeons in London, and colleagues examined whether the rates of reoperation correlated with patient characteristics in a cohort of 55,297 women who underwent primary breast conserving surgery in 156 National Health Service (NHS) Trusts from April 2005 through March 2008.

The researchers found that 20% of the women had at least 1 reoperation, and 18.5% had only 1 reoperation. Of those who had only 1 reoperation, 10.7 and 7.7% had another breast conserving procedure and a mastectomy, respectively. Eighteen percent of the 45,793 women with isolated invasive disease had at least 1 reoperation, compared with 29.5% of the 9,504 women with carcinoma in situ (adjusted odds ratio, 1.9). There were considerable differences in the adjusted reoperation rates between different NHS trusts.


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“Cosmetic outcomes after surgery for breast cancer are an important consideration, and women should be made aware of the local rates of reoperation after primary breast conserving surgery, along with the likelihood of proceeding to mastectomy,” the authors write.

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