[Inpatient treatment of Breast Cancer - the essentials]

Inpatient treatment of Breast Cancer - the essentials Abstract. The treatment of breast cancer patients in the inpatient setting has dramatically changed over the last decades. Modern operative techniques resulted in tremendous reductions of morbidity and complication rates. New breast conserving surgical techniques and the consequent reduction of unnecessary extensive lymph node surgery resulted in a significantly shorter length of stay. This in combination with the system of lump compensations and diagnosis related groups (DRG) led to the fact that the inpatient treatment is just another part of a complex multidisciplinary diagnostic and therapeutic algorithm. Most of the steps are being organized and performed in the outpatient setting. The overall effort has increased nevertheless due to modern quality standards and certification of breast centers.