There are more than 200,000 cases of breast cancer each year in the United States alone. Most of these women have never thought they would have to remove either a portion or the entirety of the breast. This may seem overwhelming, but you should know that you do have options when you have a mastectomy. The breast can be reconstructed and the surgery won't be noticeable after the procedure is complete.
One type of breast reconstruction that you might consider is having breast implants put in immediately after a mastectomy. If you go with this option, the breast implant is lodged behind the chest's pectoral muscle. Your surgeon will probably use a permanent implant, which would depend on the breast skin quality following the mastectomy and how large the implant is going to be. Once you're on your way to full recovery, which might be after a month or two after the surgery, your doctor may suggest a secondary procedure to adjust the contour of your breast shape. This additional procedure is simply done to adjust breast symmetry and can be performed on an outpatient basis.
A second option when thinking about a breast reconstruction is to get a breast implant using a staged approach. This process can begin immediately following a mastectomy, or it can be delayed as to give yourself more time to analyze your options. In the staged approached, a tissue expanding device is placed along the chest wall under the pectoral muscle. This acts as a space saver in which the permanent implant will eventually be placed into. A small amount of saline is injected into the expander. After a few weeks of healing, the expansion process can start to begin where the doctor will inject more saline into the expanding device through a fill-port located in the device. This port is reached by using a needle through the skin. After several months of expansion, the female will then have an operation to exchange the expansion device for a permanent breast implant.
There is a third option in the TRAM flap procedure. With this procedure, tissue is removed from the abdomen and moved up to the chest in order to create new breast tissues. This will create a more natural feeling breast as you are using your own natural tissue, and you may even achieve better symmetry using this approach. There are a few disadvantages however, one of which is a scar that can run across your entire abdomen from hip to hip. You may also experience weaknesses in your abdominal wall, bulges or even a hernia.
No matter what breast reconstruction you choose in the end, you have to make sure you get a clear comparison among all three methods by speaking with a qualified physician so that you will be comfortable with your final decision on how to go about your breast cancer surgery.
Different Types of Breast Reconstruction
One type of breast reconstruction that you might consider is having breast implants put in immediately after a mastectomy. If you go with this option, the breast implant is lodged behind the chest's pectoral muscle. Your surgeon will probably use a permanent implant, which would depend on the breast skin quality following the mastectomy and how large the implant is going to be. Once you're on your way to full recovery, which might be after a month or two after the surgery, your doctor may suggest a secondary procedure to adjust the contour of your breast shape. This additional procedure is simply done to adjust breast symmetry and can be performed on an outpatient basis.
A second option when thinking about a breast reconstruction is to get a breast implant using a staged approach. This process can begin immediately following a mastectomy, or it can be delayed as to give yourself more time to analyze your options. In the staged approached, a tissue expanding device is placed along the chest wall under the pectoral muscle. This acts as a space saver in which the permanent implant will eventually be placed into. A small amount of saline is injected into the expander. After a few weeks of healing, the expansion process can start to begin where the doctor will inject more saline into the expanding device through a fill-port located in the device. This port is reached by using a needle through the skin. After several months of expansion, the female will then have an operation to exchange the expansion device for a permanent breast implant.
There is a third option in the TRAM flap procedure. With this procedure, tissue is removed from the abdomen and moved up to the chest in order to create new breast tissues. This will create a more natural feeling breast as you are using your own natural tissue, and you may even achieve better symmetry using this approach. There are a few disadvantages however, one of which is a scar that can run across your entire abdomen from hip to hip. You may also experience weaknesses in your abdominal wall, bulges or even a hernia.
No matter what breast reconstruction you choose in the end, you have to make sure you get a clear comparison among all three methods by speaking with a qualified physician so that you will be comfortable with your final decision on how to go about your breast cancer surgery.
Different Types of Breast Reconstruction
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