İZMİR ŞEHİR HASTANESİ

03.07.2026 - 11:07 Nevra UÇKAÇ/İZMİR, (DHA)-

Zümrüt Kartal, a housewife living in the city, was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer at the hospital she applied to after noticing a lump in her breast last November. An operation decision was made in the Multidisciplinary Breast Council for Kartal, who received 16 cycles of chemotherapy at İzmir City Hospital to shrink the lump that had also spread to her armpit. In order to protect Zümrüt Kartal's social and psychological life comfort, the 'Endoscopic Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy' (NSM) method, which is performed in only a few centers in Türkiye and would be carried out for the first time in İzmir, was planned. With the operation performed by General Surgery Specialist Dr. Mehmet Alperen Uğur and Plastic Surgery Specialist Efe Şimşekcan, Kartal's breast tissue was evacuated using the closed method by entering through the armpit, and a silicone prosthesis was placed in the same session. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Describing her illness process and the happiness she experienced, Zümrüt Kartal said, "I applied to the hospital with a lump I felt in November. My breast cancer became clear after ultrasound, mammography, MRI, and finally a PET scan. No one in my family had it, and my genetic results came back clean. It never even crossed my mind that it would happen to me. When I learned about the disease, it was in the second stage. Since the lump was large, I first received 16 cycles of chemotherapy to shrink it. The chemotherapy period was very heavy and difficult, but the surgery was not like I feared. I had a closed surgery. I didn't even have any pain; the surgery didn't go as terribly as I feared. I just have a very small stitch in my armpit, that's all. In the same operation, the plastic surgeon placed silicone. I had a successful and very beautiful operation. Now I am waiting for the pathology results; they said I might receive a little more chemotherapy, maybe one more cycle".

Stating that her family was her biggest support throughout the process, Kartal said, "My husband Abdil (49), my children Atalay (21) and Mina (14), my friends, and my father were all by my side. Morale support is very important in this disease. Everyone should support each other if they have someone close going through this illness. Women must also have their check-ups done. Catching it at an early age, noticing it at the very beginning, is crucial".

İzmir City Hospital General Surgery Specialist Dr. Mehmet Alperen Uğur, who performed the surgery, spoke as follows:

"During Ms. Zümrüt's examinations, we detected a lump in her right breast and a spread to her armpit. In our Multidisciplinary Breast Council, we first decided on pre-operative chemotherapy. In the check-ups we performed after the treatment ended, we saw that the lump in her breast and the spread in her armpit lymph nodes had completely regressed. This made us very happy, but surgery was mandatory. Compared to the former state of the lump, since the size of the breast and the size of the lump were disproportionate, under normal conditions, her entire breast needed to be removed. However, since our patient was young, we needed to preserve her breast aesthetically. We planned the endoscopic surgery, which is newly starting to be performed worldwide, applied in approximately 7 centers in Türkiye, and would be performed for the first time in the İzmir region". [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Stating that the operation was carried out in coordination with the plastic surgery team, Dr. Uğur said, "We entered the operation together with our Plastic Surgery Physician Efe Şimşekcan. We opened an incision of only 4 centimeters from the armpit. First, we sampled the lymph nodes, and no cancer cells were found in the pathology during the surgery; meaning the chemotherapy had given a complete response. Then, with the laparoscopic, namely endoscopic method, we entered into the breast using a camera and rods, just like performing a gallbladder surgery. We took the entire breast tissue out by emptying it from the inside. Afterwards, our plastic surgery team placed the prosthesis through the same 4-centimeter incision. Although the patient's breast tissue was removed, there was no deterioration in the appearance of the breast when viewed from the outside. Our patient both got rid of cancer and moved away from her aesthetic concerns".

Emphasizing that technological developments in medicine directly affect patients' quality of life, Dr. Mehmet Alperen Uğur said, "This successful closed surgery will make it easier for the patient to adapt to her life from now on. In current medicine, the goal is no longer just for patients to get rid of cancer, but at the same time to protect their quality of life. While the entire breast tissue of a young female patient is removed, the fact that the external appearance is not lost significantly reduces her psychological and social negative impacts. The importance of this surgery emerges right here. Of course, we would wish to apply this surgery to all our patients; however, not every breast patient is suitable for this method. We want to continue applying this comfortable method to our patients whose medical condition and anatomy are suitable".