Breast Augmentation Reconstruction
Breast cancer is not only dreaded because it becomes fatal if not treated in time, but also because it always results in breast removal or mastectomy. Now, who’d want to live with a deformity that makes it difficult to be seen in public and prove mentally agonizing? Not you, certainly. The good news is there are some really good alternatives, which may not give you back your breast, but can give you a result that looks like breast. Welcome to the world of breast reconstruction, which has given hope to many who thought mastectomy was the end of the road.
Breast reconstruction
Today, it’s not too difficult to create a breast almost akin to a natural one in form and appearance. Thanks to the new medical techniques and equipment for breast reconstruction surgery that are so efficient that an expert surgeon can reconstruct the breast right after mastectomy, so that you wake up with the breast mound already in place! This saves you the trauma of being without a breast even for a short period.
Planning and preparing for the surgery
Breast reconstruction after mastectomy usually involves more than one operation. If this surgery is conducted at the same time as mastectomy, your breast surgeon and plastic surgeon will develop a strategy for tackling it, after you’ve given them your consent. Your body type, age and cancer treatment will determine which type of reconstruction will give the best result.
This surgery is usually performed in a hospital. However, depending on the extent of surgery required, your surgeon may prefer an outpatient facility. The preparation for this operation is like for any normal surgery.
Selecting the implants
Today, you’ve a choice in breast reconstruction implants. It’s either the FDA approved saline implants or the banned silicone gel implants. However, you can go in for silicone gel implants, if your medical condition demands it or if you agree to participate in an FDA approved study. You can also get it, if you choose immediate post mastectomy breast reconstruction. However, there are risks and complication involved in the use of any kind of implants.
Breast reconstruction surgery
The surgery is always constructed under general anesthesia. Skin expansion is the most common technique. This involves inserting a balloon expander beneath the skin and chest muscle. Salt-water solution is then periodically injected over several weeks or months into the expander to gradually fill it up. After the skin over the breast area has stretched adequately, the expander is removed in a second operation and a more permanent implant inserted. Some expanders are designed to be left in place as the final implant. The breast nipple reconstruction and that of the areola, the dark skin surrounding the nipple, are reconstructed in a subsequent procedure.
An alternative approach is diep flap breast reconstruction that involves creating a skin flap using tissue taken from other parts of the body, such as the back, abdomen or buttocks. This flap is tunneled beneath the skin to the chest, creating a pocket for an implant or, in some cases, creating the breast mound itself. Flap reconstruction technique is more complex than skin expansion.
Generally, two to five days of post-operative care is all that is required for you to remain in a hospital. However, it may take you up to six weeks to recover from a combined mastectomy and reconstruction or from a flap reconstruction.
The new feeling
Although, breast cancer reconstruction cannot restore normal sensation to your breast, some feeling may return. The scars fade substantially over time, but will never disappear entirely. On the positive side, your reconstructed breast may feel firmer and look rounder than your natural breast. For most mastectomy patients, breast reconstruction dramatically improves their appearance and quality of life.
Although the reconstructed breast doesn’t feel completely natural, breast reconstruction plastic surgery is one of the most rewarding experiences for any woman.
