Areola-sparing mastectomy (ASM), a conservative mastectomy with nipple hollowing, can be applied to intraductal breast cancer with a tumour-nipple-areola complex (NAC) distance of ≤2 cm. Here, we evaluated the safety and effectiveness of ASM.

We retrospectively reviewed the surgical outcomes of 61 patients (64 breasts) who underwent ASM between 2016 and 2020.

Of the 64 breasts, 33 (51.6%) underwent ASM because the tumour-NAC distance on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging was ≤2 cm. Two patients had positive excisional margins but these were at the posterior areola surface therefore additional resection was possible. Over a median postoperative observation period of 16 months (range=3-52 months), one patient developed chest wall recurrence that was resected and did not recur again.

For breast cancer with an extensive intraductal component, ASM is a good alternative to nipple-sparing mastectomy because it allows safe resection while maintaining aesthetics.