Mastectomy is a surgical procedure performed to treat breast cancer by removing all the breast tissues from the breast. If the cancer cells have spread to a large area in the breast, then mastectomy is done. However, if the cancer cells have affected a small portion in the breast, then another surgical procedure known as lumpectomy is performed. Lumpectomy is known as breast-conserving surgery, wide local excision or partial mastectomy. In this surgery, only a small portion of the affected breast is removed. Both the surgical procedures are effective in preventing the return of cancer cells (recurrence). However, lumpectomy cannot be preferred in all cases as it is useful in cases where the cancer cells have not spread to a large area in the breast. Mastectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the breast entirely, however, with the new technologies in mastectomy, breast skin can be preserved, thereby conserving the aesthetics or appearance of the breast. This new technique is known as a skin-sparing mastectomy. There is another technique known as breast reconstruction, which is done either along with or after the mastectomy surgery. The breast reconstruction is used to restore the breast shape, which helps in conserving the appearance of the breast.