Breast Fibroadenoma Surgery: Minimally Invasive or Traditional Surgery?

Breast fibroadenomas need to be surgically removed, and there are currently two surgical methods, one is the traditional surgical removal through a skin incision, and the other is the "McMurray" vacuum-negative-pressure rotary excision method that has become popular in recent years, which is also known as the "minimally invasive" surgery. This method uses a hollow needle a few millimeters thick, with a built-in maneuverable rotary cutter and negative pressure suction device, to puncture the "needle end" underneath the fibroadenoma through a very small incision in the skin, and then activate the rotary cutter device to remove the fibroadenoma by layer-by-layer excision method. The so-called "minimally invasive" means that the skin wound is extremely small and leaves almost no trace after healing.1. Suitable cases for minimally invasive surgery are single or multiple breast fibroadenomas, but the tumors must be small, with a diameter of less than 2cm and located in the periphery of the breast.2. Suitable cases for traditional surgery are large tumors, with a diameter of more than 2cm; or tumors, regardless of size, located in or on the periphery of the breast. If the tumor is large and the diameter is larger than 2cm, or if the tumor is located in or adjacent to the nipple or areola regardless of its size, it is better to use traditional surgery, which can be operated under direct vision, so as to avoid the accidental damage to the important structures around the tumor, such as milk ducts and large ducts, which can be easily caused by the operation of minimally invasive surgery under non-direct vision. The damage to the milk ducts and large ducts during the operation is often unnoticeable, and the patient will not have any discomfort during and after the operation. However, the damage will affect the future function of breastfeeding, and increase the chance of breast hyperplasia, plasma cell mastitis, and suppurative mastitis during the breastfeeding period.