There are several ways to reconstruct the breast after mastectomy. In patients who do not require radiation there are several options available for breast reconstruction. One of the more common methods of breast reconstruction is to place a tissue expander at the time of the mastectomy and have the skin heal appropriately. Once the skin has healed without any additional…
There are several ways for a Plastic & Reconstructive surgeon to reconstruct the breast. One common way to reconstruct the breast is with an autologous tissue reconstruction of the breast with tissue from the lower abdomen. When we reconstruct the breast with the patient’s own body tissues, we call this an autologous breast reconstruction. In an autologous breast reconstruction, the…
Breast cancer is a common cancer among women in the United States and there are several different ways and modalities that can be used to treat breast cancer. Depending upon the size of the tumor and the size of the breast some patients may be candidates for a lumpectomy and an oncoplastic reconstruction of the lumpectomy defect. In aesthetic surgery,…
Mastectomy surgery and breast reconstruction are challenging. Depending upon the size of a tumor, the location of the tumor, and patient comorbidities the blood supply to the nipple areola complex can be compromised as well as the mastectomy skin. Occasionally, during a mastectomy, the midline of the chest can be inadvertently crossed, and the reconstruction can result in a symmastia. …
Breast reconstruction is a challenging specialty in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Not only does the patient and reconstructive surgeon have to contend with a foreign object of the mammary prosthesis, but also chemotherapy and radiation which can make the reconstructive process more challenging. The photograph demonstrates before and after implant reconstruction of bilateral mastectomy defects with bilateral mammary prosthesis. The…
Breast cancer is a common cancer among women. There are two different surgical ways to treat breast cancer. One way is to perform a mastectomy and the other way is to perform a lumpectomy. One simple but consistent way to approach the question to have either a lumpectomy or mastectomy is the size of the tumor relative to the size…
In the ptotic patient and when the patient would like to have an autologous reconstruction, it is helpful to reconstruct the breast with an inverted-T skin pattern. The photograph demonstrates before and after breast reconstruction with a Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator Flap. The left breast underwent mastopexy reduction to set a new goal position to match. The right breast…
After mastectomy, the breast can be reconstructed with implants or with the patient’s own tissue. When we reconstruct the breast with the patient’s own tissue, we use the term autologous breast reconstruction. Reconstruction with the patient’s own tissue is helpful in cases where radiation was required after mastectomy or in situations where implants became infected at any time after a…
Breast reconstruction following mastectomy can be performed with tissue expanders and implants. In some cases, patients do not want to have their breast reconstructed with implants and we can use the skin and fat from the abdomen to reconstruct the breast. In some patients the DIEP flap can be completed at the time of the mastectomy depending upon the size…
Many breast cancer patients have been treated with lumpectomy and radiation therapy. In some patients, the lumpectomy defect and the whole breast radiation can cause significant changes or deformities to the breast. In the before and after photograph shown, the patient had previous right breast cancer treated with lumpectomy and radiation. The lumpectomy defect as well as the whole breast…
