Breast cancer surgery: understanding the story.

1. Research has shown that mastectomy, with or without reconstruction, is no more effective in the long run than breast conservation and irradiation. Therefore, the important factor seems to be choice. 2. A Halsted radical mastectomy involves the removal of the whole breast along with the pectoralis major and minor muscles and a complete axillary dissection. A modified radical mastectomy involves removal of the whole breast and most or all of the axillary lymph nodes, but preserves the pectoralis major muscle. 3. Breast preserving strategies remove the malignant cells and minimal surrounding tissue. These segmental resections include lumpectomy, quadranectomy, and wedge resection along with axillary node dissection.