ABSTRACT
Lewis and Rienhoff were surgeons at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Halsted’s unit. In this report, they provide follow-up on 950 consecutive patients operated on by Halsted and the surgeons he trained. Of these patients, 420 (44%) were known to have died and accurate data on the postoperative course and cause of death were available. An additional 209 patients had been lost to follow-up, and 97 were know to be alive and well, 65 of these for more than 5 years. Among those who had died, the median survival was less than 3 years. The survival rates at 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20 years were 43%, 22%, 7%, 4%, and 3%, respectively (excluding perioperative deaths, these numbers were 46%, 24%, 8%, 4%, and 3%). The last 2 deaths occurred in year 32. Breast cancer was the cause of death in 96% of the patients for which this could be accurately determined. This study provides interesting insights into the relationship between delay in diagnosis and outcome and between the surgical procedure and local recurrences.
