A technique for partial mastectomy

Operations less than mastectomy for carcinoma of the breast are not new. Adair in this country, Porritt in England, and Muskatallio in Scandinavia reported early results of operations less than mastectomy, and more recently, Wise et al. in England, and Crile et al. in this country have published their results. The term partial mastectomy has often been labeled "lumpectomy", a deplorable term, and much confusion exists concerning the proper technique of partial mastectomy and its application. The purpose of this article is to discuss the selection of patients for partial mastectomy and to review the fundamental techniques of the procedure.