Know all about Mastectomy Surgery
How it is Performed
Pre-surgical steps
- Securing an intravenous line
- Oral administration of sedative drugs to facilitate placement of a breathing tube
- Placement of a breathing tube
- Administration of general anesthesia
- Disinfecting the surgical site
Surgical Procedure
Three types of mastectomy surgeries can be performed in the patients, depending on the extent of the tumor as determined by the CT scan and mammography reports.
Simple mastectomy
This type of mastectomy is carried out when the tumor is small and the surrounding lymph nodes are not infiltrated by the tumor cells. When mastectomy is conducted on both the breast, it is known as a double mastectomy. This is also used in cases of invasive ductal carcinoma.
Step 1: Surgical incision at the site of a tumor in the breast or breasts or invasive ductal carcinoma (in the case of double mastectomy)
Step 2: Retraction of the intervening tissue
Step 3: Resection of a tumor along with some normal tissue
Step 4: Establishment of drainage
Step 5: Surgical closure of the wound
Modified radical mastectomy:
This procedure is performed when the tumor is large and involves a few lymph nodes.
Step 1: Surgical incision across the nipple
Step 2: Retraction of the intervening tissue
Step 3: Resection of the tumor along with some normal tissue
Step 4: Resection of lymph nodes into which the tumor cells drain (sentinel biopsy)
Step 5: Establishment of drainage
Step 6: Surgical closure of the wound
Radical mastectomy:
This procedure is carried out when the tumor is extensive and involves all the lymph nodes and muscles of the breast.
Step 1: Surgical incision across the breast
Step 2: Retraction of the breast tissue
Step 3: Resection of a tumor, muscle and connective tissue of the breast
Step 4: Resection of all the lymph nodes of that side of the body
Step 5: Establishment of drainage
Step 6: Surgical closure of the wound
Apart from the above three procedures, there is lumpectomy (removal of just the lump along with some of the surrounding tissue) and subcutaneous mastectomy (nipple and skin tissue are not removed).
