[Treatment of cancer of the breast with Patey's modified radical mastectomy].

Patey's operation was used to treat breast cancer in 658 cases between 1956 and 1976 at the Bologna University Surgical Clinic. Follow-up in 562 cases revealed 5-yr and 10-yr survival rates substantially similar to those obtained by Halsted and others. It is felt that the type of operation used is of relative importance for survival, since breast cancer is dependent on other factors that require careful appraisal in each case.