Dictionary of Cancer Terms
View in Spanish: Mastectomía tumescente
Tumescent mastectomy (too-MEH-sent ma-STEK-toh-mee)
A type of surgery to remove the breast. The breast is injected with a liquid mixture of salts and small amounts of two drugs. These drugs are lidocaine, to numb the area, and epinephrine, to narrow blood vessels and reduce bleeding. Tumescent mastectomy is usually used to treat breast cancer in elderly patients.
Source: National Cancer Institute Dictionary of Cancer Terms, available at www.cancer.gov/dictionary.