Mastectomy surgery is one of the most popular treatment options for breast cancer. It is a localised surgical treatment that involves the removal of the cancer-affected breast. The entire breast, including the lobules, areolas, breast tissues, and nipples, are removed as a part of this surgery. The main goal is to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and stop breast cancer from spreading. 

Mastectomy, much like other surgical treatments, is recommended for early-stage breast cancer patients, where the surgery can effectively remove the entire cancerous tumour and any possible spread to different parts of the breast. With this short overview of the surgery, let’s take a closer look into mastectomy for breast cancer, how it is performed, what are its benefits, and possible complications.

Why is A Mastectomy Recommended?

A mastectomy is recommended to patients as a treatment for breast cancer. The surgery is recommended based on the stage of breast cancer that the patient is currently suffering from. Surgical treatments are best suited for early-stage cancer. Here is a look into why a mastectomy surgery may be recommended to patients.

• The size of the tumour is too large for a lumpectomy
• The cancer has spread to other parts of the breast
• Radiation therapy is not recommended for the patient

These are primarily the three reasons why a mastectomy is recommended to patients. Let’s explore each reason in detail.

The tumour size is a major factor for doctors to recommend mastectomy surgeries. Generally, a tumour size larger than 5 cm is commonly recommended for mastectomy. However, in women with smaller breasts, mastectomy can be recommended for smaller breast sizes as well. For bigger tumour sizes, a combination of systemic radiation or chemotherapy can be used to make the tumour smaller before a mastectomy, as it makes the surgery easier and reduces surgical risks.

In cases where the cancer has spread to other parts of the breasts, mastectomy is generally considered if the initial tumour size is over 5 cm and the cancer hasn’t become advanced or shown signs of distant metastasis. A mastectomy, in these cases, can help remove the entire cancer cells from the body. 

It is also useful to note mastectomy is one of the only treatments that doesn’t require or rely on post-surgical systemic treatments like radiation therapy or chemotherapy to kill all the cancer cells in the body. This is why mastectomy might be recommended in cases where the cancer is confined to a single breast and it has shown early signs of spread to other parts of the same breast.

As mentioned previously, in some cases, radiation therapy is not recommended for patients due to existing health conditions or overall health problems. In such cases, mastectomy is one of the best treatment options as mastectomy doesn’t rely on postsurgical use of radiation therapy to eliminate the cancer.

Types of Mastectomy Procedure

There are generally three types of mastectomy procedures, namely radical mastectomy, total mastectomy, and modified radical mastectomy. Let’s explore each of them in detail.

Radical Mastectomy

Radical mastectomy is the most aggressive mastectomy procedure, and for the most part, it was considered the standard mastectomy surgery whenever a mastectomy was recommended. This surgery involves the removal of the entire breast, including the nipples, areolas (skin around the nipples), breast tissues, and lymph nodes in the armpit, as breast cancer often commonly spreads to those lymph nodes and chest muscles and tissues. 

This is an elaborate and extensive surgery, which involves removing various parts, as mentioned. This surgery is not recommended unless in specific cases where the cancer has, in fact, spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit and the chest muscles.

Total Mastectomy

A total mastectomy is the new and improved version of mastectomy surgery, which is less aggressive and more directed at removing only the cancer present in the breast. A total mastectomy simply involves removing the breast tissues, nipples, and areolas to help reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence or spread. 

The overlying skin of the breast is also removed during this surgery. A total mastectomy is currently the default surgery recommendation for patients. In case, patients have cancer that has spread to nearby lymph nodes a different surgery is recommended.

Modified Radical Mastectomy

A modified radical mastectomy involves removing the breast tissues, areolas, nipples, and some lymph nodes in the patient’s armpits. This is done in case the breast cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, which for breast cancer is often the lymph nodes in the armpits. A modified radical mastectomy is safer and has lower surgical risks compared to a radical mastectomy surgery. It is also more effective in removing breast cancer and reducing the risk of cancer recurrence than total mastectomy.

How To Prepare For A Mastectomy?

Preparing for a mastectomy requires understanding the procedure and talking to the doctors regarding any possible questions you may have about the procedure. In most cases, doctors will recommend a breast reconstruction surgery after the mastectomy to help patients renew the physical appearance of their breasts. This reconstructive surgery takes help from cosmetic surgeons to help develop natural-looking breasts that match the other breast of your body in size and shape. Here are some of the things that patients might want to do to prepare for a mastectomy.

• A consent form will be presented for you to sign, which includes all the details of the surgery and the various associated risks of the surgery, which will be discussed in the next section. Please feel free to talk to the doctors and clear any doubts you may have about the procedure before signing the consent form.
   
• The doctors will also take your medical history and ensure you are in the physical condition required to go through the surgery. You may need to inform the doctors about any medication that you’re currently taking. Including over-the-counter medicine to ensure they do not interfere with your medical procedure.
   
• Patients may need to fast before the surgery. Please talk to your doctors before the procedure to know the precise details of fasting.
   
• Lastly, doctors will confirm that you are not pregnant and will take note of any medical allergies you may have, including latex, anaesthesia, or medicine allergies. Based on these findings, the doctors will clear you for the surgery, and that will conclude the surgical preparation procedure.

Mastectomy Risks

Mastectomy surgery has certain medical risks you need to know about. Here are the most important risks associated with mastectomy listed.

• Soreness in the breast
• Arm inflammation if the lymph nodes in the armpits are removed
• Temporary breast swelling
• Pain in the surgery site and breast, which needs to be addressed to doctors postsurgery

The mastectomy surgery has been revised to make it safer and easier to go through for patients. Currently, there are no serious medical risks associated with the surgery unless you are allergic to any of the surgical elements like medicine, latex, or anaesthesia.

Mastectomy Recovery

The average recovery period for a mastectomy surgery ranges between two to six weeks. Post-surgery, doctors require the patient to stay in the hospital for one to three days to monitor their health and ensure the surgical site is healing properly. Doctors also run tests to ensure the cancer is effectively removed and no cancer cells are remaining in any parts of the body; after three days the patient is discharged and needs to follow recovery guidelines mentioned by doctors at home. Patients are also requested to go for follow up visits every two weeks to ensure the recovery is proper.

Conclusion

This is a complete overview of mastectomy for breast cancer. If you are interested in learning more about the surgery, be sure to check out MASSH. Our expert surgeons can help you answer your queries and offer highly specialised and risk-free mastectomy surgeries. Check out our website or visit us today to avail of our world class surgical treatment services.