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Reconstructive Breast Surgery
For mastectomy patients, the absence of a breast serves as a relentless reminder of their surgery and disease. Every day, for the rest of their lives--whether they are five, ten or twenty years out from their cancer--these women carry a memory that does not fade. Mastectomy is not simply a scar--it is an amputation.
At University Plastic Surgeons Center for Reconstructive Surgery, patients and surgeons together explore reconstructive surgical options, which have increased significantly during the past few years. Treatment is highly individualized, closely matching the needs of the patient.
One alternative, the TRAM flap breast reconstruction procedure, involves the use of abdominal skin and muscles to form a new breast. In this procedure, surgeons lift the abdominal wall, tunnel under to the mastectomy site in the chest and bring the skin and fat of the lower abdomen through this tunnel. Patients receive the additional benefit of an abdominal "tuck." Other options include autologous tissue replacement, implants, and tissues expanders followed by breast implants. These procedures can be performed immediately following mastectomy or anytime thereafter. The same options are available to correct the effects of radiation therapy or lumpectomy, and, similarly, can be undertaken as soon after treatment as is comfortable for the patient.
The Center also offers an adolescent breast component geared toward teenagers who need surgery because of asymmetrical breast development. Patients receive saline-filled tissue expanders, followed by a permanent implant. Early treatment is key in these young patients, especially for their psychological well-being.
Breast reduction in the properly selected patient may relieve a woman of the problems associated with massive enlargement of the breast, restore balance of form, and markedly improve a woman's self image.
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