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breast-sparing surgery

(brest-SPAYR-ing SER-juh-ree)
Surgery to remove cancer or other abnormal tissue from the breast and some normal tissue around it, but not the breast itself. Some lymph nodes under the arm may be removed for biopsy. Part of the chest wall lining may also be removed if the cancer is near it. Also called breast-conserving surgery, lumpectomy, partial mastectomy, quadrantectomy, and segmental mastectomy.
More Information
Lumpectomy; the drawing on the left shows removal of the tumor and some of the normal tissue around it. The drawing on the right shows removal of some of the lymph nodes under the arm and removal of the tumor and part of the chest wall lining near the tumor. Also shown is fatty tissue in the breast.Enlarge this image in new window
Lumpectomy. The tumor and some normal tissue around it are removed, but not the breast itself. Some lymph nodes under the arm may also be removed. If the cancer is near the chest wall, part of the chest wall lining may be removed as well.
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