Breast cancer is a common type of cancer diagnosed in 192,000 women and 2,000 men each year in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute. There are several different treatment options for breast cancer that doctors recommend based on the stage of cancer growth. One of these treatments is surgery. The goal of a surgeon during breast cancer surgery is to remove all of the cancerous cells, keeping in mind the emotional and social effects of the surgical results. Thus, a surgeon balances these two priorities: cancer eradication and cosmetic concerns. The surgical procedures for breast cancer surgery are often categorized by the extent of tissue removed.
Lumpectomy
A lumpectomy is the most conservative of breast cancer surgeries, and it involves the removal of a tumor and only a small amount of the surrounding tissue, according to the American Cancer Society. A lumpectomy is a type of breast-conserving surgery, where the minimum amount of tissue is removed mostly for cosmetic reasons.
Wide Excision
Wide excision breast cancer surgery calls for the removal of more tissue than a lumpectomy but still qualifies as a breast-conserving surgical procedure. Because a surgeon makes a larger incision for this type of surgery than he would for a lumpectomy, a larger and more noticeable scar will develop, according to the Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals.
Quandrantectomy
The American Cancer Society reports that in a quadrantectomy, a surgeon removes one-quarter of all the breast tissue surrounding a cancerous tumor. This procedure is also sometimes called a partial mastectomy because only a portion of the breast tissue is removed.
Mastectomy
Mastectomy is the most extensive of all breast cancer surgical procedures and involves removing all of the breast tissue in a breast and sometimes some associated tissues as well. If this procedure is performed on both of the breasts, it is called a double mastectomy. There are three subtypes of mastectomy, according to the American Cancer Society: simple mastectomy, modified radical mastectomy and radical mastectomy. Simple mastectomy calls for the removal of all the breast tissue along with the nipple but not the removal of underarm lymph nodes or the muscle tissue underneath the breast. In a modified radical mastectomy, the surgeon removes all of the breast tissue along with the underarm lymph nodes. In a radical mastectomy, the surgeon removes all three of these tissues: the breast tissue, the underarm lymph nodes and the muscle tissue underneath the breast tissue.
