Breast Surgical Services

Surgical services at the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital offer diagnostic and treatment options for benign (non-cancer) and malignant (cancer) conditions. Reasons why a patient might be referred to a surgeon include: breast pain, a lump, nipple discharge, change in the appearance of the breast or a change in a mammogram or concerns about risk factors for breast cancer.

New patients need to be referred to the Breast Centre by a primary care provider (e.g., family doctor).

Your First Visit

Where to Come

Find directions and parking information.

To reach the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre, take the Murray Street elevators at the back, or west side, of the hospital to the 12th floor.

Hours and Contact

Monday to Friday: 8 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Telephone: 416-586-8799
Fax: 416-586-8847

What to Bring

Please bring:

Your health card
A list of your medications (prescription and non-prescription) to your appointment
If you have already had a mammogram and/or ultrasound outside of Mount Sinai Hospital, you will be asked to bring the results of these tests with you on a CD to the Breast Centre. You will need to contact the facility where you had these tests done in order to request a CD. (This can take few days, so leave enough time before your appointment to obtain it.)
If you have not already had these tests the Centre may arrange for you to have them done.

Please allow at least two hours for your scheduled appointment.

During your first visit, a complete history related to the symptoms is taken and a breast examination is performed. You will be asked to complete a questionnaire when you arrive to help communicate some of these important details about your medical history.

What will happen next?

Next steps depend on the outcome of the first visit.

Breast lump or thickening

If a lump or thickening is found when the doctor does the examination, some additional imagining tests may be required. This will help determine if a biopsy is need.

If a biopsy is needed, the surgeon will decide if a fine needle aspiration (FNA) or a core biopsy will be the best approach. Once the report of the results from this test is available, an appointment will be booked to discuss next steps. We have a special expedited process in place to get you the information quickly. This whole process usually takes 1-3 days.

Change in the mammogram or ultrasound

If a change is noted in the mammogram or ultrasound but nothing is found on examination of the breast, the patient may be referred to the breast imaging for further studies or for an ultrasound-guided biopsy or stereotactic biopsy.

Surgery for a tumour

If you need surgery for a tumour, the procedure will be planned and you will come to the hospital on the morning of the surgery. In most instances, you will go home the same day. If it is considered necessary for medical reasons, the patient may stay for overnight.

In planning for the surgery, the surgeon will discuss the best option for you (i.e. lumpectomy or mastectomy, lymph node surgery). Before you come to the hospital your surgeon will carefully discuss the reasons for the proposed treatment and all the treatment options with you. The types of surgery you will be offered depend mainly on:

The size and location of the tumour
The size of the breast
If there is cancer and if it has spread to the lymph nodes
If you have already had any treatments for breast cancer

Any arrangements for any special care that you might need after surgery will be made during this planning.

After surgery, the tumour and the lymph nodes that were removed will be sent to the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department for complete analysis and special testing. The report will come back to the surgeon and an appointment will be booked to meet and discuss the results, examine the healing of the surgery site and plan for any next steps in your care.

If you or your family need help in coping with any aspect of diagnosis and treatment, you will be able to access social work services as part of your care at the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre.

Breast Reconstruction

Breast reconstruction following breast removal (mastectomy) is available after surgery. There are several different ways to reconstruct your breast that you may want to consider. Please speak to your breast surgeon or other health care provider to arrange a consultation with a reconstructive surgeon. You can learn more on the Breast Reconstruction Program website.