Breast Cancer  & Mastectomy

A mastectomy is the surgical removal of the entire breast, usually to treat serious breast disease, such as breast cancer.

There are four general types of mastectomy:

• Subcutaneous mastectomy -- the entire breast is removed but the nipple and areola (the pigmented circle around the nipple) remain in place
• Total (or simple) mastectomy -- removal of the whole breast, but not the lymph nodes under the arm (axillary nodes).
• Modified radical mastectomy -- removal of the whole breast and most of the lymph nodes under the arm (axillary dissection)
• Radical mastectomy -- removal of the chest wall muscles (pectorals) in addition to the breast and axillary lymph nodes. For many years, this operation was considered the standard for women with breast cancer, but it is rarely used today.