Hidden Scar Surgery Offers Another Option for Breast Cancer Patients

In August of 2016, Gayla Fulcher noticed redness from a bug bite that was making its way up her arm. Upon visiting her primary care doctor, she was advised to get a sonogram of the bite area, as well as to undergo the mammogram that she had been putting off.

The results from her mammogram revealed that she had a small lesion in her breast. It was the that Fulcher decided to seek the services of Dona Hobart, a breast surgeon and medical director of the Center for Breast Health at Carroll Hospital. “I wanted to go to the breast center because I liked the value of a coordinated center for breast care” she said. After a biopsy confirmed a cancer diagnosis, Dr. Hobart performed a lumpectomy on Fulcher, using the Hidden Scar approach. “At my age, I wasn’t as concerned with the cosmetic appearance at the time. But once I realized I was going to have surgery I started to think differently” said Fulcher, now 75. Following the procedure, she had to put on her reading glasses to see the mark from the incision. “It was just a faint little red scar. I was absolutely amazed that that’s all it was” she recalled.