After breast cancer surgery, patient couldn't reach her surgeon — hospital explains procedure

LA.LV received a letter from a patient named Ināra describing her experience with breast cancer treatment. A gynecologist referred her for a mammogram, which revealed a tumor. Treatment then proceeded quickly through a fast-track "green corridor" process, with surgery performed in June.

After being discharged, the patient noticed one of her surgical wounds was leaking fluid and tried to reach her surgeon, without success. She called a care nurse but did not get complete answers, so she visited the hospital in person twice. It turned out the leakage was a normal part of the healing process. The wound has since healed, but the patient developed new concerns about a painless lump in her armpit and again was unsure whom to contact.

Hospital's response

Riga East Clinical University Hospital states that diagnostics and surgical treatment were carried out promptly and according to medical guidelines. The waiting period before radiation therapy should not be seen as a queue, since treatment proceeds in stages whose sequence and timing are determined individually by a medical board based on the patient's post-surgical condition.

The hospital explains that for post-operative questions, patients should contact the breast care nurse, whose role is to provide guidance and coordinate care, while issues requiring a doctor's physical examination cannot be resolved by phone alone. In this case, the patient did contact a nurse and visited the dressing nurse twice, who assessed the wound as healing normally.

The hospital also clarified that a lighter area visible in the prior year's mammogram does not by itself indicate a tumor was already present — such areas can also correspond to normal breast tissue, and conclusions require professional comparison of the images. In her letter, the patient also thanked the hospital's free psychologist, whose support she said helped her greatly before the surgery.