ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the pre-operative assessment of the patient, identifying some of the issues important to the anaesthetist, the use of regional techniques which are commonplace today, the importance of thromboprophylaxis, and a little evidence surrounding recent questions of recurrence rates with anaesthesia and opioids. The ASA Physical Status Classification System has been in use for over 60 years. The identification of peri-operative risk is an important consideration for a small proportion of breast cancer patients. The traditional thoracic epidural is the gold standard for analgesia involving thoracic cavity surgery, when the dissection is more invasive and the pain experienced is more severe. Tamoxifen treatment showed increased risk in the first 3 months after treatment but, after that time, the risk diminished.
