Conservative mastectomy: extending the idea of breast conservation.

Conservative mastectomy is a surgical technique to remove breast glandular tissue without disruption to the appearance of the breast. The main contraindication to this operation is involvement of the nipple-areola complex. Preservation of a healthy nipple does not affect long-term survival rates. Intraoperative retroareolar biopsy and accurate removal of all mammary tissue are mainstays to guarantee oncological safety of the technique. A complication, however infrequent, is nipple necrosis, which can be treated successfully by local excision. Several breast reconstructive techniques are used during conservative mastectomy and aesthetic results are good in most cases.