Same‐day mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection is safe for most patients with breast cancer

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of same‐day mastectomy, with or without a sentinel node biopsy (SNB) and/or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). METHODS: In this retrospective study, we reviewed 913 consecutive women who underwent a simple mastectomy for breast cancer between the years 2014 and 2019 and were treated either with same‐day surgery (SDS) or an overnight stay (OS) regime. We reviewed all surgical complications, any unplanned return to care (RTC) and the rehospitalization rate for 30 postoperative days. RESULTS: A total of 259 patients (28%) were treated with SDS and 654 patients (72%) with an OS regime. There was no difference in RTC (odds ratio: 0.79 [95% confidence interval: 0.53–1.18], p = 0.26) or any major complications between the groups. None of the investigated subgroups, such as patients with previous neoadjuvant therapy, diabetes, obesity (up to a body mass index of 40 kg/m(2)), the American Society of Anaesthesiologist Class of 3, or elderly patients aged 75–84 years, showed an increased complication rate when treated with the SDS regime. CONCLUSION: A same‐day simple mastectomy is safe with SNB and/or ALND. It can be performed safely for most patients with stable co‐morbidities.