Robotic mastectomy: the next major advance in breast cancer surgery?
Monica Morrow
Abstract
In the past three decades, remarkable advances in de-escalating breast cancer surgery have occurred, with breast-conserving surgery replacing radical mastectomy, sentinel lymph node biopsy replacing axillary dissection, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy used to downstage both the axilla and the breast, allowing smaller operations with less morbidity. These advances were incorporated into practice after high-quality scientific evidence demonstrated equivalent survival and local control compared with standard surgical approaches. The use of robotic-assisted surgery in urological, gynaecological, and general surgery has increased more than three-fold in the past decade1, so it is not surprising that it is now being proposed as the next major advance in breast...