Immediately after the procedure, patients are taken to a recovery room until they are awake and vital signs are stable. Bandages (dressings) cover the surgery site. 

Following the procedure, the breast area will be flat or, in very thin women, slightly concave (indented), There will be a scar that goes across the middle of the chest where the breast used to be. Initially, the skin in the breast and underarm area will not be completely flat, and fluid may accumulate as part of the natural healing process. The surgeon typically inserts one or more drains (plastic or rubber tubes) into the breast or underarm area. The drains remain in place to remove blood and lymph fluid that accumulates during healing.

At home, patients may need to empty the drains that were placed in the breast and underarm area during surgery. They will measure the fluid in them and alert their physician about any potential problems that arise, such as a large swelling of tissue due to excess underlying fluid. This is rare, and can be drawn out with a needle in a procedure known as aspiration. Drains usually remain in place for one or two weeks and are removed when drainage has been decreased to 1 fluid ounce a day.

In some cases, a woman may have her arm placed in a sling to prevent her from moving the arm and tearing the surgical incisions. However, many physicians prefer not to do this because it can cause the patient’s arm to stiffen and the muscles to become tight. If the arm is kept immobile for a long period of time, physical therapy or occupational therapy may be necessary before the patient can properly use it again.

As a result, physicians will often forsake the sling and instead recommend that the patient use the arm normally and move it frequently to prevent problems. Patients should avoid lifting anything heavier than 5 pounds for several days following the surgery. The physician will recommend certain range-of-motion exercises to prevent contractures of the arm and avoid lymphedema, swelling in the arm that can occur if the surgery has removed lymph nodes. In some cases, women may receive physical or occupational therapy to help in these areas.

Patients will see their physician for a follow-up visit within a week to two weeks after surgery. At that point, the physician will explain the results of the pathology report on the removed tissue and will explain any need for additional treatment, if necessary.

Women who have a mastectomy may receive follow-up treatments to ensure that their cancer is completely eradicated and to reduce the odds of it returning. Commonly used treatments include:

• Chemotherapy. Uses one or more powerful drugs to target dividing cancer cells to keep them from reproducing and spreading throughout the body. It may be used before (to shrink a tumor prior to surgery) or after a mastectomy.
  
  
• Radiation therapy. Uses an energy called ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy may be performed to shrink a tumor before a mastectomy and is sometimes performed after partial and simple mastectomies. It may also be performed after a modified radical mastectomy, depending on the results of laboratory analysis of lymph nodes removed during the procedure.
  
  
• Biological therapy. Repairs, stimulates or enhances the immune system so that it can better recognize and destroy cancer cells. In some cases, biological therapy directly targets the cancer cells for destruction.  This therapy also may be used because it often has fewer of the side effects associated with cancer treatments such as chemotherapy.
  
  
• Hormone therapy. Treatment to reduce the level of, or interfere with, certain hormones that cancers need to grow.
  
  
• Additional surgery. In some cases, the results of analysis of tissues removed during a mastectomy may indicate the need for additional surgery.

Women may still need mammograms after a mastectomy. Some breast tissue can remain after a mastectomy, which should be monitored for cancerous areas. Women should continue to get regular mammograms in the other breast if they have had a unilateral mastectomy.