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Removing the cancer and keeping the shape of the breast, or rebuilding it after mastectomy, at Apollo Hospital, Bhat, Gandhinagar–Ahmedabad.
Oncoplastic breast surgery and breast reconstruction in Ahmedabad are carried out by Dr Swapnil Sharma, MS, FMAS, DrNB (Surgical Oncology), Consultant Surgical Oncologist, at Apollo Hospital International Ltd, Bhat, Gandhinagar. The same surgeon who does the cancer operation does the reshaping; neither is referred out.
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.
Dr Swapnil Sharma
MS, FMAS, DrNB (Surgical Oncology)
Consultant Surgical Oncologist, Apollo Bhat
Google rating 5.0, 25 reviews — Apollo, Bhat listing.
Removing a lump can leave a dent. Oncoplastic surgery moves the remaining breast tissue into that space so that the breast keeps an even shape.
In ordinary breast conservation, the lump is removed with a rim of normal tissue and the wound is closed. When the piece removed is small against the size of the breast, that works well. When it is large, or sits in a part of the breast where a gap shows easily — the lower half, or near the nipple — the result can be a visible hollow or a nipple pulled to one side.
Oncoplastic techniques prevent that. The remaining breast tissue is freed and moved to fill the gap, much as in a breast reduction or lift. The nipple is re-centred if needed. The skin is closed in a pattern that hides the scars as well as possible.
There is a second gain. Because the shape can be restored, a wider margin of normal tissue can be taken around the tumour. That lowers the chance of needing a second operation for close margins. Reshaping and clearance pull in the same direction.
Where the breast is large, the other breast may be reduced to match, at the same sitting or later. That is planned with you, never assumed.
It is not needed for every lumpectomy. A small lump in a larger breast is often removed with a simple closure and a good result.
Swipe sideways to see the whole table.
| Implant | Your own tissue | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating time | Shorter | Longer |
| Second scar elsewhere | No | Yes, where the tissue is taken |
| How it feels | Firmer | Softer, more natural |
| Changes with weight and age | No | Yes, it ages with you |
| Hospital stay and recovery | Shorter | Longer |
| May need replacing years later | Yes | No |
| After radiotherapy | Tolerated less well | Usually the steadier choice |
Implants are placed under the skin, or under or over the chest muscle, often after a skin-sparing or nipple-sparing mastectomy. Sometimes a temporary expander is placed first and slowly filled over weeks before the final implant.
Your own tissue is most often a flap of muscle and skin from the back (the latissimus dorsi flap), moved round to the chest with its own blood supply, sometimes with an implant beneath it.
Radiotherapy changes the choice. Skin that has had radiotherapy tolerates an implant less well, so your own tissue is often the steadier answer there. This is worked out before surgery, with the radiation team.
Reconstruction can be done with the mastectomy or months afterwards. Both are offered here, and the treatment you still need often decides which.
Immediate reconstruction means one anaesthetic and one recovery, and you do not wake without a breast shape. It suits women who are unlikely to need radiotherapy afterwards, and those having a skin-sparing or nipple-sparing mastectomy.
Delayed reconstruction means the cancer treatment is finished and settled before any rebuilding begins. It suits women who are likely to need radiotherapy to the chest wall, and those who want time to decide.
When planned properly, neither route delays chemotherapy. Where mastectomy is the operation, the reconstruction question is raised before surgery, not after, because the two are planned together. Choosing not to rebuild is also a sound choice; an external prosthesis inside the bra restores the shape under clothes.
A reshaped or rebuilt breast is a good shape under clothes and in a swimsuit for most women. It is not the same as the breast before surgery, and it helps to know that in advance.
After oncoplastic reshaping, the breast is usually a little smaller and may sit slightly higher than before, and radiotherapy firms it further over the following months. Where the difference with the other side bothers you, the other breast can be adjusted later to match.
After reconstruction, the new breast has the shape of a breast but much less feeling, because the nerves to the skin are divided at the mastectomy. Some sensation returns over time; most of it does not. A rebuilt breast also does not change with arm movements in quite the way a natural breast does.
Scars fade over a year or more but do not disappear. Where possible they are placed where clothes cover them: under the breast, around the areola, at the side of the chest, or on the back.
The decisions are yours as well as the surgeon’s. Before the operation, you are asked what matters most — the size, keeping the nipple, avoiding a second scar, a quicker recovery — and the plan is shaped around that, within what is safe for the cancer.
Recovery after reshaping alone is close to recovery after breast conservation surgery: a short stay, then a gradual return to light work over the following weeks.
Reconstruction asks more. An implant reconstruction recovers much like a mastectomy, with drains for some days. A flap from the back takes longer: a longer stay, a drain at the back as well as the front, and several weeks before you feel yourself again. The donor site is usually the part that takes longest to settle.
The final shape takes months to settle in every route. Judging the result in the first weeks is too early. A second, smaller operation to fine-tune the shape or to rebuild a nipple is sometimes planned once everything has healed.
The risks are discussed before consent: wound healing problems, fluid collections, infection, and with implants the possibility of firm scar tissue around the implant over time.
It means the cancer operation and the reshaping are planned as one. The tumour is removed with a clear margin, and the remaining breast tissue is moved to fill the gap at the same sitting.
No. The cancer clearance is planned first and is never traded for appearance. Reshaping often allows a wider piece of tissue to be taken, because the shape can still be restored afterwards.
An implant means a shorter operation and a quicker recovery. Your own tissue gives a softer result that changes with your weight and age, at the cost of a longer operation and a second scar where the tissue is taken.
Both are offered. Doing it with the mastectomy means one anaesthetic and you wake with a breast shape. Doing it later lets you finish the cancer treatment first. Whether radiotherapy is likely often decides the timing.
Sometimes. It depends on how far the tumour sits from the nipple and on what the scans show. Where it can be kept safely, it is kept; where it cannot, a nipple can be reconstructed later.
No. Follow-up examination and scans work as usual after reconstruction, and a recurrence is found in the same way it would be without it.
Dr Swapnil Sharma performs the oncoplastic reshaping and the reconstruction himself, at Apollo Hospital International Ltd, Bhat, Gandhinagar. Call +91 63555 64601 to fix a time.
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. |
| Mastectomy: simple and modified radical | Removing the whole breast, with or without the armpit nodes. |
| Sentinel node biopsy and axillary surgery | How the armpit nodes are checked, and when more of them need to come out. |
| Robotic-assisted mastectomy: who it suits | A hidden-scar nipple-sparing mastectomy for a small group of selected women. |
| Breast lump: when it needs checking | Most lumps are not cancer. How a lump is assessed, and when to see a surgeon. |
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, and tell us what matters to you about the shape. Call to fix a time. Call +91 63555 64601 · Ask on WhatsApp
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