UF Health Breast Center
Serving Lake, Marion and Sumter counties near areas like The Villages and Leesburg, we provide leading-edge surgical treatments and care to our communities, helping you heal close to home.
At UF Health Breast Center, we turn strength into action. From advanced screening to leading-edge breast cancer treatments, our care is designed around you — your diagnosis, your body, your life. As part of UF Health, a nationally recognized academic health system, we bring together breakthrough research, innovative technology and top breast cancer specialists to deliver care that’s as powerful as it is personal. Our multidisciplinary team works as one to target cancer with precision, support you with compassion and move you forward with confidence. Every step. Every decision. Every victory — together.
UF Health Breast Center highlights
UF Health surgeons use advanced treatment and reconstruction techniques for patients with a variety of diagnosed or suspected conditions, including:
- Breast cancer
- Fibroadenomas
- Fibrocystic breast disease
- Nipple discharge
- Noncancerous breast lumps
We offer a variety of services and surgeries, including:
- Image-guided surgery
- Immediate breast reconstruction
- Lumpectomy/breast conservation surgery
- MOLLI® precision tumor localization
- Oncoplastic breast surgery
- Skin-sparing and nipple-sparing mastectomy
Expect quality when you turn to our breast care team
At UF Health Breast Center, we take a personalized, multidisciplinary approach to evaluating and treating a wide variety of breast conditions. When you need surgery, we will take the time to ensure you understand your diagnosis and treatment options so you can feel comfortable and confident that you are making the right decision. Then, we will create an individualized treatment plan for your needs and offer compassionate support before, during and after your procedure to help you heal and get back to the life you love.
Our breast surgeons partner with more than 1,200 UF Health specialists to provide you with seamless, personalized care designed around your unique needs. These include:
- Geneticists
- Medical oncologists
- Nurses
- Pathologists
- Plastic and reconstructive surgeons
- Radiation oncologists
- Radiologists
We perform breast conservation procedures using the oncoplastic technique, which can maintain breast shape and contour while removing a benign or cancerous lump or lesion. We also provide a range of reconstructive techniques, many of which can be performed at the same time as your breast surgery.
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Frequently asked questions
Q: What conditions can be treated with breast surgery?
A: Breast surgeons can treat:
- Abscesses caused by mastitis
- Benign tumors like cysts or fibroadenomas, if they grow large or cause discomfort
- Inflammatory breast cancer
- Intraductal papillomas, which are small growths in the milk ducts of the breasts that can cause nipple discharge and pain
- Invasive breast cancer, including ductal carcinoma and lobular carcinoma
- Metastatic breast cancer
- Noninvasive breast cancer or precancerous conditions, including ductal carcinoma in situ and lobular carcinoma in situ
- Phyllodes tumors, fast-growing lumps that begin in the connective tissue of the breast that are typically benign but sometimes cancerous
- Radial scars
Q: What is breast reconstruction surgery?
A: Breast reconstruction includes surgical procedures performed to restore the breast’s natural appearance, shape, and size after a mastectomy or for correction of changes, due to partial removal of the breast (lumpectomy). Breast reconstruction may take place immediately after a mastectomy or lumpectomy or may be delayed.
Oncoplastic surgery combines the latest plastic surgery techniques with breast surgical oncology. When a partial breast resection is required that would otherwise leave the breast distorted, the remaining tissue is sculpted and rearranged to restore a more natural appearance to the breast shape and, oftentimes, the nipple-areolar complex. The opposite breast will also be modified to create symmetry.
Q: What is a lumpectomy versus a mastectomy?
A: Lumpectomy is when only the breast cancer and tissue around the cancer are removed. This is also called breast conservation therapy or partial mastectomy. Most of your breast will be left. Mastectomy is when all breast tissue is removed.
Q: What can I expect when recovering from breast surgery?
A: Your recovery will depend on which type of surgery you have.
After a lumpectomy with a lymph node biopsy, recovery may take about a week before you can return to work.
After a lumpectomy without a lymph node biopsy, you may feel well enough to return to work after a few days and can typically get back to your normal level of physical activity after a week.
After mastectomy with breast reconstruction, your recovery time can vary from about four weeks for implant surgery or six to eight weeks for tissue flap reconstruction.
After a mastectomy without breast reconstruction, you can expect to recover in about three to four weeks. During that time, you will likely have some pain for at least the first few days and experience some fatigue as your body heals.
Call your doctor if you develop a fever or increased warmth, redness, swelling, discomfort or drainage from your incision, as these could be signs of an infection.
Call your doctor if you develop signs of lymphedema, like a feeling of heaviness, pain, or aching in your breast, torso, arm and/or hand; a tight feeling in the skin of these areas; reduced flexibility; and skin changes like pitting.
Follow your discharge instructions, take pain medication as prescribed and get plenty of rest.
Pain, bruising and changes in sensation are common with all types of breast surgery.