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Mastectomy for breast cancer, with or without the armpit nodes, at Apollo Hospital, Bhat, Gandhinagar–Ahmedabad.
Mastectomy in Ahmedabad is carried out by Dr Swapnil Sharma, MS, FMAS, DrNB (Surgical Oncology), Consultant Surgical Oncologist, at Apollo Hospital International Ltd, Bhat, Gandhinagar. This page sets out the two operations, when the breast is removed rather than kept, the days after surgery, and rebuilding the breast.
Shah’s Gastro, Cancer & Robotic Surgery Centre. Breast cancer treatment is planned with medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology and pathology together; every case is discussed at the tumour board before surgery is fixed.
Dr Swapnil Sharma
MS, FMAS, DrNB (Surgical Oncology)
Consultant Surgical Oncologist, Apollo Bhat
Google rating 5.0, 25 reviews — Apollo, Bhat listing.
Simple mastectomy removes the breast. Modified radical mastectomy removes the breast and the armpit lymph nodes together. The chest muscles stay in both.
Swipe sideways to see the whole table.
| What is removed or changed | Simple mastectomy | Modified radical mastectomy |
|---|---|---|
| Breast tissue, with the nipple and a strip of skin | Yes | Yes |
| Lymph nodes from the armpit | No (a sentinel node biopsy may be added) | Yes |
| Chest wall muscle | No | No |
| Drain after surgery | Usually | Yes, often two |
| Risk of arm swelling later | Low | Higher, because more nodes are removed |
| Breast rebuilt at the same sitting | Possible | Possible |
Which one you need is decided by whether the armpit nodes carry disease. That is checked before surgery with an ultrasound of the armpit and, if a node looks abnormal, a needle test. Where the nodes are clear, the armpit is usually spared with a sentinel node biopsy, which removes only the first one or two nodes the breast drains into. Where the nodes are known to carry disease, the armpit is cleared in the same operation, and that is a modified radical mastectomy.
A third operation sometimes comes up: the skin-sparing or nipple-sparing mastectomy, in which the skin envelope (and sometimes the nipple) is kept so that the breast can be rebuilt inside it. It is the same cancer operation with less skin removed, and it only makes sense when the breast is rebuilt at the same sitting. For a small group of selected women it can be done through a cut at the armpit — see robotic-assisted mastectomy: who it suits.
For most early breast cancers, keeping the breast and removing it give the same long-term survival. So mastectomy is not the “safer” choice by default. It is the right choice in particular situations:
Some women choose mastectomy even when conservation is on offer, often to avoid radiotherapy or the follow-up scans of a kept breast. That choice is respected. It is discussed with the reports in front of you, not in the abstract. Breast conservation surgery is set out on its own page so you can compare the two.
The operation is done under general anaesthesia. An elliptical cut is made across the breast, taking the nipple and a strip of skin with it. The breast tissue is lifted off the chest muscle and removed in one piece, so that the pathologist can study its edges.
In a simple mastectomy a sentinel node biopsy is often done through a small separate cut in the armpit, or through the same cut. In a modified radical mastectomy the cut is extended towards the armpit and the lymph nodes there are removed with the fat around them, taking care of the nerves that run to the chest wall and the arm.
One or two thin drains are placed under the skin, and the wound is closed with dissolving stitches. If the breast is being rebuilt at the same sitting, that is done before the wound is closed — see oncoplastic surgery and reconstruction.
The breast and the nodes go to the pathologist. The histopathology report gives the exact size and type of the cancer, its receptor status, whether the margins are clear and how many nodes carry disease. That report decides the treatment that follows.
In hospital. You are up and walking the same evening or the next morning, and eating normally. Pain is controlled with tablets. The physiotherapist shows you the shoulder exercises before you leave.
The drain. You go home with the drain in place and are taught how to empty it and write down the amount each day. It is removed in the clinic when the daily amount has fallen.
Fluid under the skin. Fluid sometimes collects under the skin after the drain comes out. This is common and usually harmless. It is drawn off in the clinic with a fine needle, sometimes more than once.
The arm and shoulder. Shoulder exercises matter more than anything else you do at home. Use the arm on the operated side for ordinary tasks from the start. If the armpit nodes were removed, avoid tight sleeves, cuts and burns on that arm, and tell the clinic early if the hand or arm swells.
Numbness. The skin of the chest wall and the inner arm is often numb after surgery. Some of this recovers over months; some is permanent and usually stops being noticed.
A breast can be rebuilt at the same sitting as the mastectomy, or as a separate operation later. Doing it together means one anaesthetic and one recovery, and you wake up with a breast shape. Doing it later lets you decide once the cancer treatment is finished, and avoids radiotherapy affecting a new reconstruction.
Neither route is wrong. What suits you depends on the treatment you still need, especially whether radiotherapy is likely, on your build, and on what you want. Some women choose not to rebuild at all and use an external prosthesis inside the bra, which restores the shape under clothes. The options are set out on the oncoplastic surgery and reconstruction page.
The histopathology report decides what follows: radiotherapy for some women, chemotherapy or targeted treatment for some, and hormone tablets for cancers that are hormone-receptor positive.
Radiotherapy to the chest wall is advised after mastectomy when the tumour was large, when several nodes carried disease, or when a margin was close. Chemotherapy and targeted treatment depend on the stage and on the receptor status (ER, PR, HER2). Hormone tablets are usually taken for several years when the cancer is hormone-receptor positive. Each of these is planned with the medical and radiation oncologists, and you are told why it is or is not needed.
Follow-up visits check the scar, the other breast and the arm, and include a yearly mammogram of the other breast.
A simple mastectomy removes the breast alone. A modified radical mastectomy removes the breast and the lymph nodes from the armpit in the same operation. The muscles of the chest wall are left in place in both.
No. Removing the chest muscles was the old radical operation and it is not used for breast cancer now. The muscles stay, which is why arm strength and shoulder movement come back well with exercise.
Not for most early breast cancers. Breast conservation with radiotherapy and mastectomy give the same long-term survival for most women whose cancer can be removed either way. Mastectomy is advised when the breast cannot safely be kept, or chosen by women who prefer it.
A drain carries away the fluid that collects where the breast was. It stays until the amount each day falls. You are shown how to empty it and record the amount before you go home, and it is removed in the clinic.
Yes. A new breast shape can be built during the same operation or months later. Both routes are offered here, and Dr Swapnil Sharma performs the reconstruction himself.
Sometimes. It depends on the size of the tumour, on how many lymph nodes carry disease, and on the margins. The histopathology report answers this, not the operation.
At Apollo Hospital International Ltd, Bhat, Gandhinagar. Consultations are held there as well. Call +91 63555 64601 to fix a time with Dr Swapnil Sharma.
The other parts of the breast service each have their own page.
Swipe sideways to see the whole table.
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Breast cancer surgery in Ahmedabad | The whole breast service in one place: the operations, the order of treatment, and recovery. |
| Breast conservation surgery (lumpectomy) | Removing the cancer and keeping the breast, followed by radiotherapy. |
| Sentinel node biopsy and axillary surgery | How the armpit nodes are checked, and when more of them need to come out. |
| Oncoplastic surgery and reconstruction | Reshaping or rebuilding the breast, at the same sitting or later. |
| Robotic-assisted mastectomy: who it suits | A hidden-scar nipple-sparing mastectomy for a small group of selected women. |
Apollo Hospital International Ltd, Bhat — consultation and surgery
Plot No. 1A, GIDC Bhat, Industrial Estate, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382428
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Phone: +91 63555 64601 · WhatsApp
Last updated: 3 October 2026. Reviewed by Dr Swapnil Sharma, MS, FMAS, DrNB (Surgical Oncology), Consultant Surgical Oncologist.
This page is for information. It is not a substitute for an examination and a personal opinion.
Bring the mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy report to the first visit. Call to fix a time. Call +91 63555 64601 · Ask on WhatsApp
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