A female GP who underwent a mastectomy at the hands of surgeon Ian Paterson was "cancer-phobic", a court heard.
Prosecutors said leading breast surgeon Ian Paterson is accused of carrying out the "quite unnecessary" procedure in June 2001 on doctor Rosemary Platt.
Nottingham Crown Court has previously heard Platt was "anxious" about her health and said she was under the impression that she already had cancer - rather than being at risk of developing cancer - after abnormalities had been found in lumps.
Paterson, 59, took to the witness stand and described Dr Platt as an anxious lady and said all treatment options were presented to her.
He said: "She was an anxious lady and a depressed lady and we knew from the psychiatrist's report she had a cancer phobia.
"The way to protect herself was that she would do everything she could to maximise her protection.
"(The mastectomy) was carried out to prevent cancer, not to treat it."
Paterson said he would be prepared to "over-treat" her as if her problems were "at the black end of the spectrum" owing to her fears.
He is standing trial after denying 20 counts of wounding with intent against nine women and one man relating to procedures he carried out between 1997 and 2011.
Jurors have previously heard claims he carried out completely unnecessary operations for "obscure motives" which may have included a desire to "earn extra money".
Other alleged victims have included a mother who is said to have agreed to two "unnecessary operations" leaving her unable to breastfeed and a woman who had a "significant deformity in her visible cleavage area" after a pair of unneeded operations on her left breast, the court heard.
Dr Platt previously told the jury she "left her GP hat at the door" and trusted the advice given to her by the consultant to go under the knife after discovering the growths in her right breast.
Four months later, she had another operation on her left breast which the prosecution claim was unlawful.
Paterson said Dr Platt knew she did not have cancer, but instead had LCIS - an indicator of invasive cancer.
He said: "This lady did not have cancer and clearly understood that.
"If someone tells you that you have unstable cells that is not what you want... you want peace and quiet in the breast."
He added that he could have convinced Dr Platt to undergo a second mastectomy on her left breast, but considered the best course of treatment was a four-quadrant biopsy.
He told the jury of six men and five women: "If I had been desperate to play on this lady's anxiety, I'm sure I could have persuaded her to have another operation but I did not."
Paterson, of Castle Mill Lane, Ashley, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, who was formerly employed by Heart of England NHS Trust and also practised at Spire Healthcare, denies 20 counts of wounding with intent.
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