Choosing a Surgeon | Choosing an Implant | Choosing the Surgical Incision Site | Choosing the Type of Implant Placement | General Description of Breast Implant Surgery | After the Surgery | Choices in Reconstructive Procedures | Breast Reconstruction with Breast Implants | Immediate reconstruction is one-stage or two-stage reconstruction | Breast Reconstruction with Tissue Flaps | Questions to Ask Your Surgeon about Breast Augmentation | Questions to Ask Your Surgeon about Breast Reconstruction
Breast Implant Surgery
Choices in Reconstructive Procedures
The type of breast reconstruction procedures available to you depends on your medical situation, breast shape and size, general health, lifestyle, and goals. You can have your breast reconstructed with a breast implant, a tissue flap (your own tissues), or a combination of the two. If you have breast reconstruction, with or without breast implants, you will probably undergo several reoperations to improve symmetry and appearance.
For example, after your breast has healed from the original implant surgery, you may want to build a new nipple and darken the areola (skin around the nipple). This procedure can usually be performed on an outpatient basis. Ask your doctor to explain the various ways this can be done, such as using a skin graft from the opposite breast or by tattooing the area. Ask your doctor about the pros and cons of each implant technique. If you decide to have reconstruction for one breast, your doctor may suggest surgery on the other breast to achieve a similar appearance.
The following issues should be considered for women with breast cancer:
- The physical and cosmetic results with breast implants may be affected by chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or any other factor that significantly affects the healing process.
- Skin necrosis may occur because blood circulation to the remaining tissue has been changed by a mastectomy. Radiation treatment may also increase skin necrosis.
- It usually takes more than one operation to achieve the desired cosmetic outcome, especially if the reconstruction procedures include building a new nipple.
- Breast reconstruction is an optional procedure and is not needed to treat the cancer.
Choosing a Surgeon | Choosing an Implant | Choosing the Surgical Incision Site | Choosing the Type of Implant Placement | General Description of Breast Implant Surgery | After the Surgery | Choices in Reconstructive Procedures | Breast Reconstruction with Breast Implants | Immediate reconstruction is one-stage or two-stage reconstruction | Breast Reconstruction with Tissue Flaps | Questions to Ask Your Surgeon about Breast Augmentation | Questions to Ask Your Surgeon about Breast Reconstruction
FDA Breast Implant Consumer Handbook - 2004
U. S. Food and Drug Administration
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/handbook2004/glossary.html
