Mastectomy

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Summary

A mastectomy is surgery to remove a breast or part of a breast. It is usually done to treat breast cancer. Types of breast surgery include:

• Total (simple) mastectomy - removal of breast tissue and nipple
• Modified radical mastectomy - removal of the breast, most of the lymph nodes under the arm, and often the lining over the chest muscles
• Lumpectomy - surgery to remove the tumor and a small amount of normal tissue around it

Which surgery you have depends on the stage of cancer, size of the tumor, size of the breast, and whether the lymph nodes are involved. Many women have breast reconstruction to rebuild the breast after a mastectomy.

Sometimes mastectomy is done to prevent breast cancer. Only high-risk patients have this type of surgery.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Start Here

• Breast Cancer Surgery (Susan G. Komen for the Cure) - PDF
• Mastectomy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Mastectomy -- The Surgical Procedure (Susan G. Komen for the Cure)
• Surgery Choices for Women with DCIS or Breast Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Surgery for Breast Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Follow up Care After Breast Cancer Treatment (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Breast Cancer: Types of Treatment (American Society of Clinical Oncology) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Deciding between Mastectomy or Lumpectomy (Susan G. Komen for the Cure)
• Surgery to Reduce the Risk of Breast Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• What You Need to Know about a Mastectomy (Susan G. Komen for the Cure)

Images

• Breast lump removal - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Mastectomy - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Mastectomy (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Survival After Development of Contralateral Breast Cancer in Korean Patients With...
• Article: Comparison of wire-guided localization (WGL) and radio-guided occult lesion localization (ROLL)...
• Article: The QUILT study: quilting sutures in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery:...
• Mastectomy -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American Cancer Society
• National Cancer Institute Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Breast lump removal (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Mastectomy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Mastectomy - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish