Contents:
- Medical Video: Aesthetic Breast Reconstruction Options Following Mastectomy | UCLA Plastic Surgery
- Do I have to do breast reconstruction?
- When can I do breast reconstruction?
- What happens when reconstruction is done before radiation and chemotherapy?
Medical Video: Aesthetic Breast Reconstruction Options Following Mastectomy | UCLA Plastic Surgery
Not a few women who experience breast cancer are afraid of undergoing a mastectomy, which is surgical removal of the breast. Most of them are afraid not to have beautiful breast forms again after doing a mastectomy. However, right now, there is a procedure called breast reconstruction, which is a medical procedure in which the breast is reshaped from the beginning using certain materials, so that the shape is normal again. However, when should breast surgery be done?
Do I have to do breast reconstruction?
Breast reconstruction is a breast surgery that aims to make a woman's breast shape back using silicone or other body tissues.Although breast reconstruction is included in the treatment of breast cancer, you can still choose whether to do it or not. Because actually there are advantages and disadvantages in this medical procedure.
You may get a normal form of breast and make your self confidence increase again. But on the other hand, breast reconstruction is a medical procedure that also has risks like surgery in general. Therefore, before deciding, it is better to discuss with the doctor who is dealing with you to know the risks that might occur.
When can I do breast reconstruction?
Regarding when breast surgery can be done, depending on the condition of each breast cancer patient and treatment applied. Actually, this procedure can be done immediately when the mastectomy is done, so you don't need to go back to the operating room and be anesthetized many times. In addition, if breast reconstruction is done in conjunction with a mastectomy procedure, your recovery time will be faster.
However, this depends on the condition of the body and the treatment that you must do afterwards. If you have to undergo chemotherapy and radiation after a mastectomy, breast reconstruction will not be done at that time.
What happens when reconstruction is done before radiation and chemotherapy?
If you do a mastectomy before undergoing radiation or chemotherapy, then the reconstruction action will be delayed until all the treatment is complete. Because, radiation and chemotherapy can affect the shape and condition of your reconstructed breast.
Radiation can cause permanent problems in the pigmentation, texture, and elasticity of the skin, so there is a high risk of damaging the shape of the breast that has been made again. While chemotherapy can make the healing process of a used wound become slow. This condition increases the risk of infection in the constructed breast.
So, patients who still have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation must postpone the breast formation surgery again until the treatment is complete. In fact, patients who have stage three breast cancer or tumors in their breasts larger than 5 cm, it is recommended to wait at least six months or one year to reconstruct the breast.
