European Board Certification
The FEBS Breast Surgery examination is the European fellowship in breast surgery. This guide explains the exam, its format, eligibility, the topics and trials tested, and how to prepare.
Content reviewed 26 August 2026 against current guidelines.
FEBS Breast Surgery is the qualification awarded on passing the EBSQ examination run by the UEMS Section of Surgery, Division of Breast Surgery, with the examination organised by ESSO. Passing awards the title Fellow of the European Board of Surgery (FEBS) in Breast Surgery.
Note that BRESO — the ESSO Breast Surgical Oncology programme with EUSOMA and EUBREAST, which awards the CEBS certificate — is a separate training-and-competency pathway. The curriculum used for the exam is revised by the BRESO group, but the exam that awards FEBS is the UEMS/ESSO EBSQ.
Written Examination (MCQ)
Oral Examination
The written and oral components are held on separate dates several months apart — the written first, the oral later in the year — after an initial eligibility review.
Breast Cancer Surgery
Breast-conserving surgery, mastectomy and margin principles.
Axillary Management
Sentinel node biopsy, ACOSOG Z0011 and AMAROS decision-making.
Oncoplastic Techniques
Level I/II oncoplasty, volume displacement versus replacement.
Reconstruction
Implant-based and autologous reconstruction, timing and patient selection.
Systemic Therapy Decisions
Neoadjuvant indications and SLNB after neoadjuvant therapy.
Benign Breast Disease
Risk lesions, high-risk pathology and screening context.
The written and oral sittings are scheduled on separate dates each year (written in spring, oral in autumn), after an eligibility review of CV, logbook and references.
Exam dates, fees and eligibility details change each cycle — always confirm the current requirements on the ESSO EBSQ pages (essoweb.org) and the UEMS Division of Breast Surgery pages before applying.
FEBS Breast is the recognised European subspecialty credential in breast surgery, valued by breast units operating to EUSOMA standards.
Preparation embeds the axillary and oncoplastic evidence base — the exact areas where practice has changed most and where examiners test candidates hardest.
Know the ACOSOG Z0011 and AMAROS axillary management criteria precisely, the oncoplastic level I/II classification, and where ESMO and NCCN diverge on sentinel node biopsy after neoadjuvant therapy. Practise timed questions across both the written and oral formats.
SurgBoardsQ&A offers more than 870 breast surgery practice questions mapped to the FEBS Breast syllabus, each with a full guideline-referenced explanation.
The exam covers breast cancer surgery, oncoplastic and reconstructive techniques, axillary staging and management, systemic therapy decision-making, and benign breast disease.
Yes — 50 breast surgery practice questions are free with no credit card required.
Every question is written by Pablo Lozano Lominchar, MD, PhD, and mapped to this board’s published syllabus. Before it enters the bank it has to pass an automated check: five options, a written explanation, and a citation — a named society guideline or a named trial. Benign and functional topics cannot be published without a society guideline; oncological ones cite NCCN, ESMO or AJCC, and the classification systems that govern a topic — Bethesda, TIRADS, Atlanta, Prague, Chicago — have to appear where they apply. The author has audited the full active bank against current guideline versions: what fails is re-cited, rewritten or withdrawn. 650 questions are currently withdrawn and are served to nobody.
Scope of authorship. FEBS-Breast sits outside the author’s own subspecialty practice, which is surgical oncology — peritoneal malignancy, sarcoma, hepatopancreatobiliary and complex pelvic surgery. No diplomate of this board has signed these questions off. What they offer is traceability rather than personal authority: every answer names the current guideline or trial it rests on, so you can check it at the source before you trust it. Found an error? Tell us — it gets corrected or withdrawn.
SurgBoardsQ&A provides more than 1,400 practice questions mapped to the exam syllabus, each with a detailed explanation and guideline citation.
Start practising
50 questions free, no credit card required. Filter by board, topic, or difficulty. Explanations cite ESMO and NCCN.