- Mastectomy
- A general term for removal of the breast. usually to remove cancerous tissue. The operation can be done in a hospital or in an outpatient clinic, depending on how extensive it needs to be. It takes from two to three hours, with three to five weeks for full recovery. Drainage shunts are left in the surgical incision for a few days after the operation; these are removed in three to five days if the area is healing normally. After the mastectomy, reconstructive surgery may be performed to restore a more normal appearance. Many patients choose to avoid reconstructive surgery, and wear special undergarments instead. In cases of non- metastatic breast cancer, a lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination of these treatments may prove a viable alternative to mastectomy. If a lumpectomy is chosen, the surgeon may remove some lymph node tissue from under the arms to make sure cancer has not spread. A modified radical mastectomy involves removal of the breast and the axillary lymph nodes. A simple mastectomy removes the breast, but not the lymph nodes.
* * *- extended radical m. excision of the entire breast including the nipple, areola, and overlying skin, as well as the pectoral muscles and the lymphatic-bearing tissues of the axilla and chest wall and internal mammary chain of lymph node s.- modified radical m. excision of the entire breast including the nipple, areola, and overlying skin, as well as the lymphatic-bearing tissue in the axilla with preservation of the pectoral muscles.- radical m. excision of the entire breast including the nipple, areola, and overlying skin, as well as the pectoral muscles, lymphatic-bearing tissue in the axilla, and various other neighboring tissues. SYN: Halsted operation (2).- simple m. excision of the breast including the nipple, areola, and some of the overlying skin. SYN: total m..- subcutaneous m. excision of the breast tissues, but sparing the skin, nipple, and areola; usually followed by implantation of a prosthesis.- total m. SYN: simple m..
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mas·tec·to·my ma-'stek-tə-mē n, pl -mies surgical removal of all or part of the breast and sometimes associated lymph nodes and muscles see MODIFIED RADICAL MASTECTOMY, PARTIAL MASTECTOMY, RADICAL MASTECTOMY, SIMPLE MASTECTOMY* * *
n.surgical removal of a breast. Simple mastectomy, performed for extensive but not necessarily invasive tumours, involves simple removal of the breast; the skin and if possible the nipple may be retained and a prosthesis (see breast implant) may be inserted under the skin to give the appearance of normality. When breast cancer has spread to involve the lymph nodes, radical mastectomy may be performed. This classically involves removal of the breast with the skin and underlying pectoral muscles together with all the lymphatic tissue of the armpit. This treatment may be followed up with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. In modern surgical practice a modified radical mastectomy, preserving the pectoral muscles, is more usual than the classical technique. See also lumpectomy.* * *
mas·tec·to·my (mas-tekґtə-me) [mast- + -ectomy] excision of the breast; called also mammectomy.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
