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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Mastectomy is surgery to remove all breast tissue from a breast as a way to treat or prevent breast cancer.
For those with early-stage breast cancer, mastectomy may be one treatment option. Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy), in which only the tumor is removed from the breast, may be another option. Deciding between mastectomy and lumpectomy can be difficult. Both procedures are equally effective. But lumpectomy isn't an option for everyone with breast cancer, and others prefer to undergo a mastectomy.
Newer mastectomy techniques can preserve breast skin and allow for a more natural breast appearance following the procedure. Surgery to restore shape to your breast — called breast reconstruction — may be done at the same time as your mastectomy or during a second operation at a later date.
- Breast cancer treatment (PDQ). National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/breast/healthprofessional/AllPages. Accessed Aug. 18, 2011.
- Breast cancer risk reduction. Fort Washington, Pa.: National Comprehensive Cancer Network. http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/f_guidelines.asp. Accessed Aug. 18, 2011.
- Modified radical and total mastectomy. In: Khatri VP, et al. Operative Surgery Manual. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2003. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B0-7216-7864-5..X5001-9&isbn=0-7216-7864-5&uniqId=273959611-3. Accessed Aug. 18, 2011.
- Iglehart JD, et al. Diseases of the breast. In: Townsend CM Jr., et al. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery: The Biological Basis of Modern Surgical Practice. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-6/0/1565/0.html. Accessed Aug. 18, 2011.
- Surgery for breast cancer. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/BreastCancer/DetailedGuide/breast-cancer-treating-surgery. Accessed Aug. 18, 2011.
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