Mastectomy

Mastectomy

Mastectomy is the surgical removal of all, or some of the breast tissue. This type of surgery is nearly always used for the treatment of cancer of the breast. However, if breast cancer is caught early enough it might be cured with radiotherapy alone, without surgery.

The mastectomy operation can basically be divided into the radical, the simple and the modified radical mastectomy.

A radical mastectomy involves the removal of all breast tissue and overlying skin, including all the underlying muscle (the pectoral muscles) and the lymph glands present in the armpit. Such extensive and mutilating surgery often resulted in the loss of so much skin that a major skin graft was needed to cover the area of chest wall left exposed. The cosmetic result was often far from acceptable!

A simple mastectomy involves the removal of breast tissue only. Usually the nipple is retained, and, if a breast implant is feasable, it is possible to produce a realistic `natural' breast outline afterwards.

Another type of operation is the `modified radical mastectomy', where the breast tissue and lymph glands are removed, but the muscles, the pectorals, are left behind. The results of this procedure seem no worse than the disfiguring radical mastectomy. Some specialist breast cancer units have achieved success rates of over 80%, when the excised lymph glands were free of malignant cells.

Nowadays, the trend is to go for the simple operation of `lumpectomy', where only the lump is removed, and any further intervention does not involve the surgeon's knife. Any suspected spread to the adjoining lymph glands is treated using radiotherapy. Lumpectomies are only done when the the tumour is small. Latest research has shown that if the cancer is caught early enough, and the lumpectomy is followed by radiotherapy, the chances of survival are as good as with the modified radical mastectomy technique.

Following surgery for breast cancer, many women are started on the anti-cancer drug `tamoxifen'. This drug has produced dramatic success rates with regard to the long term cure rate of breast cancer. Further information can be found at:CancerHelp UK http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk
IMPORTANT NOTICE : This content is from the Dr Chris Steele personal archive and is provided for convenience only. Information contained here may no longer agree with the most up to date medical advice. Please check with a medical professional before taking any action.

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