mastectomy

noun

mas·​tec·​to·​my ma-ˈstek-tə-mē 

plural mastectomies

: surgical removal of all or part of the breast and sometimes associated lymph nodes and muscles

Did you know?

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. Early cases can often be treated with drugs or with a small operation called a lumpectomy (because it removes a lump). Though a "simple mastectomy" is larger than a lumpectomy, it allows the breast to be reconstructed, using artificial implants or tissue from elsewhere on the body. But "radical mastectomy", which is required when the cancer is at an advanced stage, takes much of the chest muscle and makes reconstruction impossible.

Examples of mastectomy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

McBride was the first person in the tri-state area to undergo a a robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy. — Wendy Grossman Kantor, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2026

Mable Sanders, 27, plans to get a prophylactic mastectomy -- a preventative operation to remove healthy breasts to greatly lower the risk of developing breast cancer. — ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026

But overall recovery from the mastectomy and radiation wasn’t that bad. — Lashae D. Rolle, Glamour, 26 Oct. 2026

Within two weeks, Robinson had undergone two biopsies, followed by a double mastectomy at Emory Midtown Hospital and treatment through Kaiser Permanente. — Roni Robbins, AJC.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Greek mastos breast + English -ectomy

First Known Use

circa 1923, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mastectomy

• colectomy
• cystectomy
• gastrectomy
• lobectomy
• nephrectomy
• splenectomy
• thymectomy
• vasectomy
• vitrectomy
• adrenalectomy
• cholecystectomy
• endarterectomy

Medical Definition

mastectomy

noun

mas·​tec·​to·​my ma-ˈstek-tə-mē 

plural mastectomies

: surgical removal of all or part of the breast and sometimes associated lymph nodes and muscles see modified radical mastectomy, partial mastectomy, radical mastectomy, simple mastectomy