Positive Margin After Breast Surgery – What to Do?

Per current guidelines, a positive margin with an invasive carcinoma requires re-excision.

After reduction and with an unoriented specimen, it would not be possible to safely determine which margin to re-excise. Thus, mastectomy is the standard answer for management.

Moran MS, Schnitt SJ, Giuliano AE, et al. Society of Surgical Oncology-American Society for Radiation Oncology Consensus Guideline on Margins for Breast-Conserving Surgery with Whole-Breast Irradiation in Stages I and II Invasive Breast Cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2014; 32(14): 1507-15.

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