Breast Mastecomy Surgery

Breast Mastecomy Surgery

medical animation:







Mastectomy
A mastectomy is surgery to remove a breast. It is performed either to treat or to prevent breast cancer. Only high-risk patients have surgery to prevent cancer. There are four main types:

Total 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 - removal of a breast tumor and a small amount of surrounding tissue, usually including most of the underarm lymph nodes
Radical mastectomy - the removal of the breast, lymph nodes and chest muscles. This is no longer common
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.



Skin-Sparing Mastectomy
Many women choose a "skin-sparing mastectomy" in order to get the most realistic and pleasing results from later breast reconstruction. This procedure takes only the skin that must be removed to prevent further spread of cancer: the nipple, areola, and the incision (the place where skin was cut and sewn back together) from your biopsy. The remaining pouch of skin provides the best shape and form to accommodate a soft tissue reconstruction or an implant.

Expert Quote
"A lot of people's first response is to give me all the decision-making responsibility. But they're happier when they feel they can make their own decisions. I usually say, 'Don't trust me, don't trust anybody. If what I say doesn't make sense, don't do it.' Most people are more satisfied with that. They feel better if they're more involved in making the decision that's best for them." —Anne L. Rosenberg, M.D. If you're definitely not planning to have reconstruction after your mastectomy, your surgeon will remove as much skin as is required to make the surface of your chest—and your scar—flat. But if you think you may have breast reconstruction at some point, your surgeon may perform the skin-sparing procedure. According to breast surgeon Dr. Anne Rosenberg, a skin-sparing mastectomy "shouldn't be done if there's any question of the tumor involving the skin, such as in inflammatory breast cancer".