Breast conservation is now a mature surgical procedure. In 2002, 20-year followup reports of
two pivotal prospective randomized trials were published 1, 2 demonstrating that survival
after a small (lumpectomy) 1 or large (quadrantectomy) 2 breast resection followed by
radiotherapy was equal to survival after mastectomy. In the past 20 years, considerable
clinical experience has been gained with patient selection for breast-conserving surgery,
appropriate method of preoperative evaluation, conduct of the surgical procedure, and …