Modified Radical Mastectomy

Your provider might ask you to:

• Stop smoking and drinking alcohol several weeks in advance
• Stop taking certain medications several days in advance
• Stop eating and drinking several hours in advance

You might also want to plan ahead for what happens after surgery. For example, you’ll need someone to drive you home. And you may want to arrange for someone to help you at home during recovery.

First, a healthcare provider will give you general anesthesia, so you won’t be aware of or feel any pain. Then, your surgeon will:

1. Make a cut (incision) in your breast.
2. Remove your breast tissue, chest muscle lining, skin, nipple and areola.
3. Remove most — or very infrequently, all — of the lymph nodes under your arm. This is called an axillary lymph node dissection.
4. Place one or more surgical drains to collect fluid.
5. Close the incision.

If you and your surgeon planned for it, they’ll perform breast reconstruction before closing the incision.

A modified radical mastectomy may take two to three hours. It may take longer if you’re having reconstructive surgery at the same time. Your provider will tell you what to expect.

Treating breast cancer is a balancing act. Your provider wants to remove all the cancer without causing any more harm than they have to. Modified radical mastectomy has become less common. But there are still times when it may be necessary.

But more extensive surgeries do carry a higher risk of long-term complications. This is especially true when they involve your lymph nodes. Complications of modified radical mastectomy may include:

• Breast skin wound problems
• Body dysmorphia
• Lymphedema
• Phantom breast syndrome
• Post-mastectomy pain syndrome