Breast Surgery
The Breast Surgery service is provided from the purpose-built Primrose Breast Care Centre. The surgical team are co-located with the Breast Imaging team. The service receives symptomatic referrals from GPs and patients referred from the Breast Screening Service with a definite or suspected breast malignancy. The Breast Unit serves a population of 430,000 and treats upwards of 450 new breast cancers per annum.
The Breast Surgery team work closely with the Plastic Surgery service and are developing links to improve the patient offer with regard to immediate breast reconstruction. The permanent surgical complement of the Breast Unit is of one consultant, one associate specialist, one specialty doctor, an SPR, an F2 and an F1.
The surgical unit works very closely with the dedicated Breast Imaging Department which consists of 6 consultant radiologists, an advanced radiology practitioner and a number of specialist radiographers and support staff. The team work together to provide an average of 75 new “one stop” appointments each week, at which patients with suspected cancer can receive surgical advice and imaging at one appointment.
If referred on to surgery, the team use a mixture of inpatient and day case operating to provide the optimum care for each patient. Dedicated breast care nurse support is available to all patients.
The unit is open from 8.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday. Out of hours care for inpatients is provided by the general surgery team.