Asan Medical Center(AMC) recently performed its 30,000th breast cancer surgery.

Starting in 1989 with 13 operations performed, AMC performed its 10,000th and 20,000th surgeries in 2007 and 2013, respectively,

adding another 10,000 operations in just 4 years.

Since 2013, AMC Breast Cancer Center has performed an average of 2,500 breast cancer operations every year.

This means 1 in 9 breast cancer patients nationwide have undergone surgery at AMC.

The Breast Cancer Center’s analysis of patients who received breast cancer surgery during the 20 years from 1995 to 2014

showed that there was an increase in percentage from 37.8% to 57.8% for early stage breast cancer patients,

from 10% to 66% for performance of breast-conserving operations,

and from 24% to 50% for performance of immediate reconstruction after mastectomy.

Director of the Breast Cancer Center Ahn Sei-hyun (Professor of Breast Surgery) said,

“There are more and more patients who not only have their breasts reconstructed immediately after

having their cancer removed but also have their own nipples successfully conserved.

The Breast Cancer Center will not rest on its past performance; it will continue to do its best to enhance the quality of life of patients.”

Professor Kim Sung-bae of the Department of Oncology said,

“More and more patients who previously would have had to get a complete mastectomy,

have been able to have breast conserving operations by reducing the size of the cancer cells

that need to be removed through pre-surgery anti-cancer therapy.

In the future, more patients will be able to benefit from better treatment methods.”

The milestone of 30,000 breast cancer operations was made possible because of many departments

including Surgery, Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Radiology, Pathology, Plastic Surgery, Nuclear Medicine, Rehabilitation Medicine,

and Psychiatry collaborated in treating breast cancer patients.

The photo shows the medical staff of the Breast Cancer Center taking a photo to celebrate their 30,000th breast cancer operation.

2017.11.28