Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Mastectomy
A mastectomy is surgery to remove part or all of the breast. It's usually done to treat breast cancer by removing the cancer. A mastectomy may be the first treatment option for some types of breast cancer or done after chemotherapy for other types. If you are at a very high risk for breast cancer, sometimes a mastectomy may be done to reduce your risk.
There are different types of mastectomies. Each differs in the amount of breast tissue and lymph nodes that are removed. Some types of breast surgery remove the breast skin and the nipple. Others may also remove nearby lymph nodes, which are part of your immune system and help protect your body from infection and disease.
Which surgery you have depends on the stage of cancer, the size of the tumor, the size of the breast, and whether the lymph nodes are involved.
Types of breast surgery include:
- Total (simple) mastectomy is the removal of all the breast tissue and nipple of the breast that has cancer. Some lymph nodes under your arm may be removed and checked for cancer.
- Modified radical mastectomy is the removal of the breast that has cancer, including the nipple, areola (dark-colored skin around the nipple), skin over the breast, most of the lymph nodes under the arm, and often the lining over the chest muscles.
- Lumpectomy is breast-sparing surgery. The tumor and some normal breast tissue around it are removed, but not the breast itself. Some lymph nodes under your arm may be removed and checked for cancer. Part of the chest wall lining may also be removed if cancer is near it.
No matter which breast surgery you choose, you may also need other treatments. These could include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or targeted therapy.
You may choose to have breast reconstruction to rebuild your breast at the same time as the mastectomy, or it may be done later. Your health care provider may suggest waiting if radiation therapy is part of your treatment plan.
It sits within Women, Surgery and Rehabilitation and Female Reproductive System.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Cancer Institute.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Mastectomy
905 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Comparison of Postoperative Analgesic Efficacy of Two Different Blocks in Modified Radical Mastectomy SurgerySultan Abdulhamid Han Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
- Evaluation of the Safety and Effectiveness of ARTIA Reconstructive Tissue Matrix Breast Reconstruction (ADORA) in Adult ParticipantsAbbVie
- Self-Determination Theory-informed Occupational Therapy Program to Increase Physical Activity Among Survivors of Breast CancerUniversity of Oklahoma
- Thermal Preconditioning in Mastectomy Patients With Immediate Breast ReductionWake Forest University Health Sciences
- Long-term Evaluation of Quality of Life and Aesthetic Outcomes After Autologous Breast Reconstruction Using the Profunda Artery Perforator (PAP) FlapAssistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
- A Study of an Alternative Treatment Approach (Preoperative Radiotherapy, Then Mastectomy, Then Immediate Reconstruction Surgery) in People With T4 Breast CancerMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Research already completed
- Comparison of Combined (Superficial and Deep) and Isolated Deep Serratus Anterior Plane Blocks After Breast SurgerySBU Ankara Egitim ve Arastirma Hastanesi
- Prevention of Post Mastectomy With Intraoperative KetamineBrigham and Women's Hospital
- Proton Radiation Therapy for Invasive Breast Cancer Following MastectomyMassachusetts General Hospital
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Breast Cancer SurgerySusan G. Komen for the Cure
- Breast Cancer SurgeryNational Cancer Institute
- MastectomyMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Surgery for Breast CancerAmerican Cancer Society
Living With
- Follow up Care After Breast Cancer TreatmentAmerican Cancer Society
Related Issues
- Breast Surgery and BreastfeedingCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: MastectomyNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Mastectomy. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Mastectomy, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.