However, enough breast tissue often remains to require yearly screening mammography. Women who have had subcutaneous mastectomy should ask their physicians if screening mammography is necessary for their situation. Annual screening mammography is necessary on the unaffected breast. A simple or total mastectomy involves removing the affected breast but no axillary lymph nodes or muscles from beneath the chest. Though radical mastectomy was once a common procedure for breast cancer patients, experts have found that modified radical mastectomy is equally effective in most cases and has become the surgery of choice.
Some women choose to have breast reconstruction using implants.
Other women choose to have breast reconstruction using tissue from their own body, often from the abdominal area. Using tissue from the abdominal region to reconstruct the breast is called TRAM flap reconstruction , which stands for transverse rectus abdominus myocutaneous flap. Other women decide not to have breast reconstruction. While researchers will continue to investigate the effect of screening mammography on women who have had reconstruction, most physicians do not recommend screening mammography on women who have undergone mastectomies. Many abnormalities found in the reconstructed breast are palpable and are discovered by a physical breast exam.