Radical mastectomy
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Radical mastectomy is a surgical procedure in which the breast, underlying chest muscle (including pectoralis major and pectoralis minor), and lymph nodes of the axilla are removed as a treatment for breast cancer.
It was developed and first performed by William Stewart Halsted in 1882. From about 1895 to the mid-1970s about 90% of the women being treated for breast cancer in the US underwent the radical mastectomy. Today, there are three categories of mastectomy: total (simple) mastectomy, modified radical mastectomy, and radical mastectomy. Total (simple) mastectomy involves the removal of the entire breast, but none of the axilary lymph nodes (lymph nodes in three levels found in the underarm area.) Axilary lymph nodes are sometimes known as "Axilia". These lymph nodes are located in the underarm area.
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