mastectomy

noun

mas·​tec·​to·​my ma-ˈstek-tə-mē How to pronounce mastectomy (audio)
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
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In one case, a young woman was rushed into a double mastectomy at a gender clinic, where pools of blood began to accumulate in her breasts, and the clinicians dismissed her concerns. Justin Gest, Newsweek, 10 Feb. 2025 Wanda Sykes never second-guessed her decision to have a double mastectomy after she was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. Eileen Finan, People.com, 7 Feb. 2025 Muriel, meanwhile, has a conversation with the man who left her behind, filling Cameron in on her cancer treatment plan: chemo to shrink the tumor before surgery, which could be a lumpectomy or could be a full mastectomy. Sara Netzley, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2024 Levinson family Levinson, who lives in Mantua, N.J,, is cancer-free after a year of treatment that included chemotherapy and a double mastectomy. Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 18 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for mastectomy

Word History

Etymology

Greek mastos breast + English -ectomy

First Known Use

circa 1923, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mastectomy was circa 1923

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Cite this Entry

“Mastectomy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mastectomy. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.

Medical Definition

mastectomy

noun
mas·​tec·​to·​my ma-ˈstek-tə-mē How to pronounce mastectomy (audio)
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

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