 The Scottish surgeon Benjamin Bell (1749–1806) advocated removal of the entire breast, even when only a portion was affected.Their successful work was carried on by William Stewart Halsted who started performing radical mastectomies in 1882, helped greatly by advances in general surgical technology, such as aseptic technique and anesthesia.The Halsted radical mastectomy often involved removing both breasts, associated lymph nodes, and the underlying chest muscles.