What Exactly Is A Mastectomy?
Breast cancer surgery often involves removing the entire breast, chest wall, and all axillary lymph nodes in a procedure known as a total radical mastectomy. Less invasive surgery options are now available and widely used.
If breast cancer is detected early enough, there are usually options for removing cancer while preserving the breast tissue. A lumpectomy (usually followed by breast radiation treatments), a partial mastectomy, and a simple mastectomy are the most common options.
Today’s most common mastectomy procedures are:
Mastectomy (partial)
To remove cancer, a partial mastectomy requires the surgeon to remove a larger portion of the breast than a lumpectomy, possibly a whole segment or quadrant of tissue. Occasionally, the surgeon removes some of the linings around the chest muscles.
Mastectomy with Skin Preservation
The breast, nipple, areola, and sentinel lymph node (or nodes) must be removed, not the breast skin. This procedure is chosen by many women who plan to have breast reconstruction.
Mastectomy with Skin, Nipple, and Areola Sparing
This mastectomy is similar to the Skin-Sparing Mastectomy but saves the nipple and areola. In most cases, the incision is made beneath the breast in the mammary fold.
Mastectomy is a simple procedure (also known as total mastectomy)
The breast, nipple, areola, and sentinel lymph nodes or nodes must all be removed during this procedure. It preserves the chest wall and distant lymph nodes. While the patient is in the operating room, a sentinel node biopsy can be performed separately. Ideally, it is performed as a skin-sparing mastectomy, preserving the breast skin for reconstruction.
Modified Radical Mastectomy
The entire breast, nipple, areola, and axillary lymph nodes are removed during this procedure, but the chest wall is often left intact.
Understanding that a mastectomy does not result in a longer survival time than a lumpectomy is critical. Both achieve the same result: surgical removal of the primary breast cancer tumour.
