Mastectomy
Traditional mastectomy is the removal of the whole breast and usually some
portion of the breast skin. Mastectomy is indicated if the involved area
is too extensive for lumpectomy. A majority of the time this operation
is followed by breast reconstruction at the same procedure.
People that are more likely to have the procedure of a mastectomy are those
that have large areas of breast cancer or those patients that wish to
remove the entire breast because of the possibility of breast cancer recurring
in the future (prophylactic mastectomies). Although this procedure is
typically done on a cancerous breast, it is sometimes also done on the
healthy breast to decrease the risk of breast cancer in the future. For
women who carry the BRCA mutation or are known to be at high risk for
breast cancer, this surgery is sometimes done bilaterally (on both breasts)
to maximize cancer-prevention.
