Incisions on the breast such as mastopexy Wise-patterns, crescents, T-lifts, etc. take several months to years to mature. In general we tell patients not to apply any creams or lotions on the skin for 4-6 weeks after surgery. After six weeks, silicone sheets can be applied to the scar to flatten the scar or prevent hypertrophic scars or keloid scars.…
Radiation of mammary prosthesis can increase the chances of capsular contracture following lumpectomy for breast cancer. When patients experience a capsular contracture, they generally feel a tightness around the breast pocket and the implant tends to displace superiorly beneath the pectoralis major muscle if the implant is sub-pectoral. Treatment of the capsular contracture involves removal of all or some of…
There are several different manners in which to treat breast cancer. Breast cancer can be successfully treated with lumpectomy and IORT or intra-operative radiation therapy. In patients with smaller tumors and of a low grade the tumor can be resected and radiation delivered at the time of the lumpectomy. The breast can be rearranged and closed allowing for an optimal…
There are breast tumors that invade through the skin of the breast. Depending upon the amount of skin that needs to be replaced different donor sites from the body can be used to replace the skin. For skin defects that reside in the upper outer quadrant of the breast, the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap is an excellent flap to replace…
In patients who have implants and develop a cancer, the cancer can sometimes be removed as a lumpectomy. Lumpectomy is often treated with radiation therapy post-operatively. Radiation can increase the risk for capsular contracture in the radiated breast. Correction requires release of the encapsulated breast pocket or excision of the capsule and often a lift of the contralateral side.
Lumpectomy defects can be reconstructed with the same techniques used to make the breast appear more youthful. The same techniques can be used to correct a deformity in the breast following radiation therapy.
Breast cancer in some patients can be successfully treated with lumpectomy and radiation. Often the same pattern used to make the breast appear more youthful can be utilized to reconstruct the breast and make it in a more suitable shape for radiation therapy to be more effective. When the tumor is in a location close to the skin and outside…
Lumpectomy and radiation, either whole breast or intra-operative radiation therapy is an option for breast cancer treatment. Not only can oncoplastic reconstruction improve the appearance of the breast, it can also contour the breast to a more amenable shape and size for radiation therapy. When the breast is reconstructed into a smaller surface area, there is a smaller and more…
Breast cancers in patients with large breasts can often be successfully treated with lumpectomy. In larger breasted women, after the tumor is removed, there is still a significant amount of breast tissue available to reconstruct the breast. The standard mastopexy or lift patterns of the breast can be used to remove the tumor. On occasion, the tumor that needs to…
Superficial tumors of the breast can be removed using the same patterns to perform mastopexy or breast reduction. When the tumor lies outside of the standard pattern for mastopexy or breast reduction, the skin pattern can be adjusted to remove the skin above the tumor. In this case the skin from the lower aspect of the breast on the patients…
