LIMA, performs scarless endoscopic breast surgery, a first of its kind technique in South India

What could be very disturbing for a woman is not only being diagnosed with lumps or tumors on the breast but the scar that will remain after surgery. Scars in the breast or neck are hugely damaging to a woman’s self-esteem. Inorder to provide a solution to this, Lifeline Institute of Minimal Access (LIMA) has developed a revolutionary alternative technique, endoscopic breast surgery through which the lumps or tumors from breast can be removed without scars.

For the past two decades endoscopic surgery has dominated the field of general, gastrointestinal, urological and gynecological surgeries. A group of surgeons from LIMA performed an endoscopic lumpectomy for a 26 year-old woman from West Bengal. This is a first of its kind procedure performed in South India.

The principle of endoscopic lumpectomy is to access the breast through the axilla, or the armpit, using its skin lines in order to avoid scars. The target lesion or lump is accessed by endoscopically creating a tunnel of dissection. After removal of the lump, the specimen is taken out through the armpit, leaving no scars at all on the breast. This type of surgery is also known as stealth surgery, as the surgeon steals away the target lump, with no visible scars.

“First popularized in Stanford, there has been very little publication from the Indian subcontinent in this matter so far. Not many were aware of this technique and lots of young women hesitate to undergo a surgery for lump removal or thyroid. However, a series of 13 patients underwent stealth surgery for thyroid disease in the same institution, LIMA, under the same group, and the paper has been sent for publication,” says Dr. J S Rajkumar, Chairman and Chief Surgeon, LIMA Hospital

Women these days are eager to befit, healthy and flawless. Many women who undergo surgical procedures on breast or neck may beparanoid about the scar marks that will affect their looks or self-esteem.“There have been cases of depression post surgeries and women find it tough to cope with the post surgery trauma. Understanding the impact it has on one’s mental health, we have come up with this new technique that not only cures the individual physically, but gives them confidence post-surgery. The procedure requires just one sitting andtherefore very  easy, cost-effectiveand time saving for the patient, says Dr. Anirudh Rajkumar General Laparoscopic & Bariatric Surgeon

The breast and thyroid, so far outside the ambit of endoscopic surgery, are now also within the field of endoscopy, thereby permitting younger and scar conscious patients an option of ‘stealth ‘ or scar less surgery