This case has many lessons:

1. Why was it necessary to do surgery on this mother?  If there was no
concern about the lump, leave it.  If there is, a needle biopsy would
have given the diagnosis without surgery.

2. Why was there a need for "lessening the impact of interruption" of
breastfeeding?  There is no need to interrupt breastfeeding because of
the surgery or anaesthesia.

3. Surgeons do not seem to understand that you can "dry up" on one
side by feeding on the other.  This is the state of breastfeeding
knowledge amongst altogether too many surgeons.

4. Most mothers in this situation that I have been involved with, have
eventually stopped leaking, even with continued nursing on that side,
but it is an annoyance and can take time, and this case argues for
doing surgery on a lactating breast only if necessary.



Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC