Breast Reconstruction Options Following a Mastectomy

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Breast Reconstruction Options Following a Mastectomy

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Most women with breast cancer usually have surgery to remove a breast tumor. This procedure could be a breast-conserving operation or a mastectomy in which the entire breast is removed. After having a mastectomy, many women consider breast reconstruction - plastic surgery to rebuild the breast mound. This procedure helps restore the breast's appearance after the mastectomy. The woman’s decision to have reconstruction after a mastectomy depends on several factors 

The surgeon performing the cancer removal

The plastic surgeon performing the reconstruction

The severity of the disease

Whether she requires additional therapy including radiation or chemotherapy

Her body characteristics


The reconstruction surgery can be either immediate or delayed. In the case of immediate reconstruction, the first stage to rebuild the breast is performed during the time the mastectomy is performed. Once cleared for breast reconstruction surgery, a woman has two main options: autologous reconstruction and reconstruction with implants. 

In the autologous method, fat and skin are harvested from areas such as the inner thighs, abdomen, back, buttocks, and shaped to reconstruct the breast. DIEP flap surgery is one of the most popular options. This method involves using a flap of tissues from the abdominal area to reconstruct the breast mound. TUG flap using thigh tissues or SGAP or IGAP using tissue from gluteal

area

are

used

for

women

who

have

already

undergone

an

abdominoplasty.



Breast implants may be placed underneath the skin and chest muscle. This is usually done as part of a two-stage procedure. A device called an expander is placed under the chest muscle and injected with a saline solution over the course of visits to the surgeon’s office. Once the desired expansion is achieved and the chest tissue has healed, the expander is removed and the implant is placed.

The final stage in breast reconstruction, which is optional, involves recreating the nipple. The decision to go ahead with reconstruction after a mastectomy is personal. A recent study on patient perspectives about breast reconstruction after mastectomy revealed that only about 42 percent of the women who had a mastectomy chose to have reconstruction surgery. A survey by the nonprofit Cancer Support Community had noted that 40% of women did not receive full information on reconstruction at the time of the breast cancer diagnosis. This highlights the importance of making women well aware about the possible options so that they can take an informed decision


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