Surgery Recovery Time

In general, a lumpectomy (most often performed with a sentinel lymph node biopsy) is done as an outpatient surgery, meaning the woman will go home the same day. The usual time to return to fully normal activities can be anywhere from 1-4 weeks, depending on the patient, underarm discomfort (generally this is worse than the breast discomfort) and various other factors.

After a mastectomy, some patients go home the same day, although I think most commonly patients are in the hospital for 24-48 hours. I will also depend if reconstruction is performed and what type - patients that undergo muscle flap reconstruction may spend 3-5 days in the hospital. Recovery can vary from just a few weeks up to 6-8 weeks, again depending on the type of surgery / reconstruction, amount of pain, and other factors. After mastectomy, drainage tubes are commonly left in place and may remain for 1-2 weeks. In general, a lumpectomy (most often performed with a sentinel lymph node biopsy) is done as an outpatient surgery, meaning the woman will go home the same day. The usual time to return to fully normal activities can be anywhere from 1-4 weeks, depending on the patient, underarm discomfort (generally this is worse than the breast discomfort) and various other factors.

After a mastectomy, some patients go home the same day, although I think most commonly patients are in the hospital for 24-48 hours. I will also depend if reconstruction is performed and what type - patients that undergo muscle flap reconstruction may spend 3-5 days in the hospital. Recovery can vary from just a few weeks up to 6-8 weeks, again depending on the type of surgery / reconstruction, amount of pain, and other factors. After mastectomy, drainage tubes are commonly left in place and may remain for 1-2 weeks.