Mastectomy is the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely, most often performed to treat or prevent breast cancer. The radical mastectomy, which removes the breast along with the underlying chest muscle and axillary lymph nodes, was first performed in 1882 and dominated breast cancer surgery for much of the twentieth century before being succeeded by less extensive techniques such as modified radical and skin-sparing mastectomy. Descriptions of breast-removal surgery for disease date back roughly 3,000 years, making mastectomy one of the oldest documented surgical procedures.
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Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationMastectomy - Lead section
Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer.
Mastectomy - History section
The earliest specific modern procedure date mentioned is 1882, when the radical mastectomy was first performed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastectomy, lead section
Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely.
View the Source Wikipedia: Mastectomy
Types: Radical mastectomyQuote, Types: Radical mastectomy
This procedure is more disfiguring than a modified radical mastectomy and provides no survival benefit for most tumors.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a mastectomy and when is it carried out?
Surgical removal of one or both breasts, usually to treat breast cancer.
A mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer choose to have the operation as a preventive measure. Mastectomies may also be carried out for transgender men and non-binary people to alleviate gender dysphoria.
How does a mastectomy differ from a lumpectomy?
A lumpectomy conserves the breast; in most circumstances survival and recurrence rates do not differ.
A lumpectomy, also known as a wide local excision, is an operation in which a small volume of breast tissue containing the tumor and a surrounding margin of healthy tissue is removed to conserve the breast. Both mastectomy and lumpectomy are referred to as local therapies for breast cancer, targeting the area of the tumor, as opposed to systemic therapies such as chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or immunotherapy. In most circumstances, there is no difference in both overall survival and breast cancer recurrence rate.
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