ASBrS: Robotic Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy Safe, Effective in Early Breast Cancer

MONDAY, May 4, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with early-stage breast cancer, robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy (rNSM) is as safe and effective as open NSM, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, held from April 29 to May 3 in Seattle.Katherine Kopkash, M.D., from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in Evanston, Illinois, and colleagues examined the safety and effectiveness of rNSM using the da Vinci Single Port versus open NSM among women with early-stage breast cancer (clinical Tis-T2 and N0). Patients were randomly assigned to rNSM or open NSM (37 patients in each arm).The researchers found that none of the patients in the rNSM arm required conversion to an open procedure. At 42 days, serious adverse events (SAEs) occurred in 8.1 and 21.6 percent of rNSM and NSM patients, respectively. No device-related SAEs occurred in the rNSM group. At 42 days, nipple-areolar complex preservation was 100 and 98.5 percent in the rNSM and open NSM groups, respectively. Unplanned reoperations occurred in 5.4 and 21.6 percent of patients in the rNSM and open NSM groups, respectively. The positive surgical margin rate was 16.2 percent in both groups. There was no significant difference seen in the rate of "ink on tumor" or ductal carcinoma in situ ≤2 mm from the margin. None of the trial patients had local or distant recurrences of cancer. More favorable baseline to six-month changes were seen in the rNSM group versus the open NSM group in the BREAST-Q domains of sexual well-being, satisfaction with breasts, and physical well-being chest, although they were not significant."Robotic breast surgery may have real benefits for both the patients and surgeons," Kopkash said in a statement.Press ReleaseMore Information.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

ASBrS: Robotic Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy Safe, Effective in Early Breast Cancer

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