Breast reconstruction post mastectomy is very important sector of reconstructive plastic surgery.
There are several ways to reconstruct a new breast. One of those is the expander/implant based reconstruction. The surgery can be done immediate after the mastectomy, where the plastic surgeon takes over from the breast surgeon, or delayed, months or years after the mastectomy, when the wound has healed and patient has completed all other therapies such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
In this type of reconstruction an expander is placed under the pectoralis major muscle and the breast skin. The expander is a balloon, with an outer shell of silicone and is empty on the inside. With repeated visits to the office, the expander is slowly and painless filled with saline water, using a needle, causing skin, subcutaneous tissue and muscle expansion. In this way the skin needed for implant coverage is created.
When expansion is completed, the expander is exchanged with an implant, specially designed for breast reconstruction. Both surgeries are done under general anesthesia and the patient is required to stay overnight in hospital.
The final stage of breast reconstruction is performed few weeks after the implant position and includes nipple reconstruction and medical tattoo of the nipple areola complex. When reconstruction is done only to one breast, additional surgeries may be required to the other one, in order to achieve symmetry. These are breast augmentation, breast lift or reduction.
