re-excision following Wide Local Excision for Breast Cancer

So the purpose of a wide local excision is to remove the breast cancer with a clear margin. And intraoperatively, some surgeons assess the margins using x-rays, and further tissue will be taken. But ultimately, we will only find out if the margins are clear from the final histology, which is performed by the histopathologist. And those results can take up to two weeks in some hospitals to come back to you. And if the margins are not clear, then you will need a further procedure to remove a small amount of extra tissue in order to achieve clear margins but that's a small procedure and a short anaesthetic.