Breast reduction surgery is a common surgery that has a high satisfaction rate. There are often several reasons that patients seek breast reduction surgery: 1. Neck or back pain 2. Persistent skin rashes in the crease of the breast 3. Difficulty exercising 4. Trouble sleeping 5. Impaired self-esteem/tough on themselves with regard to body image It is important prior to…
The latissimus myocutaneous flap is an effective flap to help close mastectomy defects or to improve the overall quality of the overlying mastectomy skin. One challenge with mastectomy breast reconstruction is the durability and quality of the mastectomy skin. Skin that has been radiated or skin that is thin is more prone to cellulitis, wound dehiscence, and other complications. When…
There are many reasons that patients can have breast asymmetry. Breast feeding can make one breast grow significantly larger than the other, radiation can make one breast contract, previous infections can shrink the breast volume, and surgery of the breast can affect development if surgery is performed at young age. Previous surgery, infection, and radiation can all cause the nipple…
Breast cancer reconstruction is a challenging component of Plastic & Reconstructive surgery. Breast cancer reconstruction is frequently performed in several stages. The first stage of reconstruction involves placing a tissue expander at the time of mastectomy. I usually prefer to place a minimal amount of volume of saline at the time of mastectomy as this often minimizes pain post-operatively. Minimal…
