Breast cancer patient discharged on same day of successful surgery
A multidisciplinary team successfully performed the tumour removal surgery on the patient, who had been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and lymphoma
Ateam of breast surgical oncologists at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)’s Hamad General Hospital (HGH) successfully performed tumour removal surgery, with the patient – in her 30s – being discharged from the hospital on the same day.
This is the first time in Qatar a same-day discharge surgery, was performed for such a case.
The surgery was carried out at the Ambulatory Care Centre’s Day Surgery Department by oncoplastic breast surgeon Dr Ertifaa al-Shammari and Dr Salman al-Shibani, in collaboration with a multidisciplinary medical team including radiologists, nurses, and histologists.
The breast oncology surgical department at the HGH performs around 500 procedures annually.
This number increased 50% in the last year due to the patients’ confidence in the medical capabilities of the HMC.
Dr al-Shammari said that performing a day surgery for breast tumour removal under the supervision of a multidisciplinary team is an unprecedented medical achievement for the HMC.
She explained that the patient was diagnosed with an early stage breast cancer and lymphoma.
Following her diagnosis and the development of an appropriate treatment plan, a decision was made to remove the tumour surgically.
The operation lasted three hours, and the patient remained under medical supervision for a few more hours after the completion of the surgery.
She was then discharged on the same day, after ensuring that her condition was stable.
The patient was provided with pain relievers and all necessary wound-care instructions, and was given contact information to call her healthcare team in case she needed anything.
A specialist nurse called the patient 24 hours after her discharge from hospital for further follow-up to ensure that her condition was stable and that she was able to return to her normal life.
The patient expressed her gratitude to the HMC and thanked her healthcare team for the high-quality care she received during all stages of her surgery.
“The patient expressed full confidence in her surgical team and the high-quality medical capabilities available at the HMC, and accepted our plan to discharge her from the hospital on the same day of surgery,” Dr alShammari explained.
“Day surgery is considered a great option for breast tumour removal operations, as it can have many advantages for the patients, including improving the patient’s psychological state, reducing pre-operative anxiety, reducing chances of developing blood clots in the legs, as well as limiting exposure to infections due to the reduced length of hospital stay, especially amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, and helping the patients to recover more quickly and return to their normal daily life,” she added.
Dr al-Shammari advises women to undergo regular checkups for early detection of breast cancer at the age of 45, as breast cancer screenings are available free of charge for all women, even for those who do not experience symptoms.
The screening is conducted through radiation imaging for both breasts using mammogram technology.
The early detection of breast cancer helps increase the recovery rate by 99% if cancer is detected in the early stages.