| Abstract: |
Although many patients currently treated for breast cancer will undergo breast conservation, there are instances in which mastectomy remains the procedure of choice. The mastectomy procedure has evolved considerably since the era of the radical mastectomy where the breast, pectoral muscles, axillary and infraclavicular lymph nodes were resected en bloc. Current techniques include the total mastectomy (non-skin-sparing), skin-sparing mastectomy, and nipple-areola-sparing mastectomy. The choice of mastectomy technique largely depends on the indication, tumor characteristics, and plans for reconstruction. This chapter reviews indications and patient selection for mastectomy and describes the technical aspects of current mastectomy techniques. © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015. |
