plastic surgery
POST MASTECTOMY
Post-mastectomy breast reconstruction
Breast removal surgery is called mastectomy and may be necessary on women with breast cancer (we are talking, however, of preventive mastectomy in cases of patients at high risk of breast cancer). It is a demolition treatment, since it involves the removal of the entire breast, and is called double or bilateral when surgery is done on both breasts.
Post-mastectomy it is possible to proceed with the reconstruction of the breast and nipple: this is a specific and very important intervention to be able to alleviate the discomforts not only aesthetic but also psychological caused by mastectomy.
Breast reconstruction after mastectomy: the methods
Post-mastectomy breast reconstruction could be done:
With a silicone prosthesis
With lipofilling: a transplant of adipose tissue taken from another area of the body
usually the abdomen or thighs
With a silicone prosthesis combined with a tissue transplant
Breast reconstruction can take place immediately after mastectomy, during the same operating session, or secondarily. In the second case, the patient can choose to resort to a temporary prosthesis to be inserted in the bra: it is an artificial breast to be worn when the region is still sensitive. When, on the other hand, the wound has completely healed, it is possible to place the definitive silicone prosthesis in the bra: it is similar to the natural breast.
Post-mastectomy breast reconstruction: aesthetic and psychological aspects
Although it is very difficult to achieve perfect symmetry between the two breasts following the reconstruction of a post-mastectomy breast, most women are satisfied. Post-mastectomy breast reconstruction is an operation that has nothing to do with retouching required for purely aesthetic reasons, however, the achievable results are still very appreciable.
As for post-mastectomy and post breast reconstruction scars, they may be more visible thanthose left by cosmetic surgery, as they depend on where the tumour was. However, much progress has been made thanks, also, to the emergence of a new figure of the plastic surgeon: the oncoplastic surgeon specialized not only in the removal of tumours but also in safeguarding the quality of life of patients, who cannot ignore aesthetic factors (symmetry, volume, shape, breast position) and psychological factors after mastectomy. In this regard, for example, many advances have been made with mastectomy techniques which, however, manage to preserve the areola and the nipple.
