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, when a patient has a ptotic breast, we use a breast lift or mastopexy to place the breast in a more youthful position. Also, when patients have large breasts, they may want to undergo a reduction to decrease the volume of their breasts.
We can use the same pattern and technique to reduce and left the breast in breast reconstruction. This not only allows the breast to be reconstructed into a more youthful and aesthetically pleasing breast shape but can also facilitate radiation treatment. The mastopexy pattern can help to obliterate any dead space that might occur after tumor removal, and this can help prevent seroma formation and infection. The reduced or lifted breast is now a smaller more compact target for the radiation oncologists and radiation can be more effectively delivered with less toxicity to surrounding tissues.
The photograph demonstrates before and after lumpectomy and oncoplastic reconstruction of an upper outer quadrant lumpectomy.
