Patient Journey

At Melbourne Breast Unit we specialise in all conditions of the breast, and you can rest assured that you will have a thorough clinical breast examination. As we are a ‘one stop’ clinic, we will do all your consultations and breast imaging on the same day at the same visit. Making the whole process less stressful and much easier for you to organise. Our surgeons have all worked in one stop clinics, from Melbourne Australia to Cambridge UK, London and beyond, so you can be assured that a wealth of experience and opinion will be offered to you. 

We look for any lumps or abnormalities, and potential areas of concern, differences of size and shape of the breasts, and nipple position. Sometimes we will offer a breast reshaping procedure such as a breast reduction as part of the initial treatment for breast cancer. Yes, breast reduction and breast reshaping operations can be used at the same time nowadays to treat breast cancers and patients are generally highly satisfied with their outcomes - So your surgeon will always be mindful that if surgery is required, how he/she will work minimise or hide surgical scarring and to give you the very best shape possible. It can be a very delicate balance sometimes!

Once you have had your clinical examination, you will be offered, on the very same day, a breast ultrasound examination, a mammogram if appropriate, and also a contrast-enhanced mammogram if appropriate. If a biopsy is necessary it will also be performed then.

Once you have completed the imaging, you will see the surgeon and the breast care nurse once more. At this visit both the doctor and specialist nurse will discuss fully the outcomes of all investigations that have been done so far, and explain fully if any further tests – such as a breast MRI – will have to be arranged. Of course if all is well, you will be discharged – but if we need results from a biopsy, we can often see you within the next 2 days for a further discussion.

If this is the case, and sometimes it takes several clinic visits to fully make an individiualised surgical treatment plan for you, please don’t be surprised if your surgeon wishes to examine you again, perhaps take some measurements, maybe even use a laser leveller for planning or ultrasound to look for blood vessels near the breast, and even take some clinical photographs. Your surgeon may even ‘draw’ on you with a water-soluble marker pen, to demonstrate what he/she may wish to offer you. Your surgeon may show you pictures of cases similar to yours and the type of surgical outcomes that we could expect for you. If a implant is required, with, for an example, an ‘internal mastectomy’ which preserves the nipple and normal breast skin, the surgeon will usually offer the most modern approach of pre-pectoral implant if required – regardless of whether you have had radiotherapy in the past or not.

If surgery is necessary, we will discuss everything fully with you and if you wish to proceed, we will take your consent. We will also try to give you a long-term plan of what other treatments may be necessary. We always do our very best to work around your own particular needs – family events, holidays, and all of those things which breast conditions could perhaps affect. We want you to get back to normal as soon as possible, and we shall support you every step of the way. Your surgeons take a very active role in continuing professional development and attend conferences all around the world in order to give you the most up to date advice and approaches.

Once we have agreed a plan for your treatment, our team will arrange a quote for you.

Some surgeons will ask that you stop Aspirin and fish oil capsules one week before, and drugs like rivaroxaban 3 days before. Drugs like Clopidogrel usually have to be stopped by all surgeons one week before surgery.

The day before surgery, our staff will contact you to confirm the arrangements for your admission. They will explain when, where and what you need to do and bring with you to the hospital. You will be reminded to fast from midnight for a morning operation or from & AM for an afternoon operation.

Then the breast surgeon will see you, confirm the procedure, and if necessary make some markings on your body. These will represent the;

You may need to take antibiotics for a week or so afterwards, depending upon the procedure.

You will be fully informed of any results and the next steps required in your treatment pathway. We will discuss your case at our multidisciplinary team meeting to wholly provide a bespoke and personalised treatment plan for you with a wide range of health professionals.