Summary
A review by County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust found that 20 women underwent mastectomy without clinical need. It also identified excessive surgery in 32 women and delayed breast cancer diagnosis in 20 women.
A review by County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust found that 20 women underwent mastectomy without clinical need while being treated for breast cancer. The findings were presented to the trust’s board in a briefing paper covering more than 500 cases reviewed after serious failures of care were identified.
The briefing said 32 women received excessive surgery in cases where a wide local excision would have been appropriate. Of those 32, 20 underwent mastectomy despite the trust finding that the more extensive procedure was not clinically necessary.
What the review found
A mastectomy removes breast tissue, while a wide local excision removes the cancer and a surrounding margin while preserving much of the breast. They are therefore materially different operations in extent and effect. The trust’s finding concerns cases in which the less extensive operation was considered appropriate but a mastectomy was performed instead.
The same review also identified delayed diagnosis of breast cancer in 20 women. The report gives aggregate figures rather than case-level details, so it does not specify how the delayed-diagnosis cases relate to the group who underwent excessive surgery.
Review of affected patients continues
The review was conducted in response to serious failures of care and examined more than 500 cases. An internal assessment of other potentially affected patients remains under way. It includes people who contacted a helpline established by the trust the previous year, as well as other patients identified during the review.
The continuing assessment means the figures reported in the board briefing describe the cases identified so far. The trust has not yet completed its review of all potentially affected patients.