Breast and Endocrine Surgery

The Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery at the Samsung Medical Center is actively introducing up-to-date medical knowledge to maximize treatment effects based on standardized treatment protocols, and at the same time is providing patient-centered medical care to increase the quality of life and patient treatment satisfaction.

Department of Breast Surgery

Major activities

1. Department of Breast Surgery

  • Breast cancer screening : We provide screening for breast cancer in affiliation with the national health screening program or for breast nodules and calcifications found in screen ing performed at primary hospitals.
  • Benign breast diseases : We provide accurate diagnosis for symptoms related to the breast and prevent unnecessary treatment. We perform tumor excision using the mammo tome to minimize scars and for safe excision considering aesthetic results, if necessary.
  • Breast cancer :
    • ① To increase the safe performing of breast conserving surgery, we accurately find out whether the tumor is multi-focal or if the range of the tumor is wide using various tests, and perform breast- conserving surgery whenever possible.
    • ② To prevent complications such as lymphedema or paresthesia from axillary lymph node dissection,we performed the first sentinel lymph node biopsy in 2001, and we perform sentinel lymph node biopsies in all cases where axillary lymph node metastasis is not suspected.
    • ③ In most of the surgery for breast cancer, we perform oncoplastic surgery not only for oncologic safety but also for aesthetic satisfaction, and when radical excision is per formed we actively perform concomitant breast reconstructions.
    • ④ For the quality of life of younger breast cancer patients under the age of 40, which shows a high rate in Korea, we have opened a Young Breast Cancer Clinic to provide rapid pre-operative testing and simultaneous medical care from multiple fields to improve quality of life after treatment.
    • ⑤ For the quality of life of breast cancer patients after complete cure, we run a lifetime health clinic.
    • ⑥ We also actively participate in domestic and international clinical research to provide the latest treatments for patients.

Department of Thyroid-Endocrine Surgery

This is a sub-division of the Department of General Surgery where we diagnose and treat dysfunctions, benign tumors, and malignant tumors of hormone-secreting organs, such as the thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal gland.

Major activities

  • Surgical treatment of thyroid cancer
  • Surgical excision for hyperthyroidism
  • Minimal incision surgery for benign tumors of the thyroid
  • Thyroid endoscopic robotic surgery: thyroidectomy is performed through an incision in the axilla, with no incision in the neck region
  • Surgery for hyperparathyroidism and benign tumors of the parathyroid
  • Laparoscopic surgery for functional tumors (Cushing’s syndrome, hyperaldosteronism, pheochromocytoma) and other tumors of the adrenal gland
  • Surgical excision of lymphatic metastases in the neck, axillary, and inguinal regions