Breast cancer is an all too common disease that can affect women at almost any age. Many patients diagnosed with breast cancer consult a surgeon to discuss their surgical options, and if a mastectomy of one or both breasts is necessary, many women also seek breast reconstruction and augmentation with implants.

The main goal of any breast reconstruction following mastectomy is to generate or ensure adequate skin is available to house an implant of sufficient volume to provide bilateral symmetry. Although there are a variety of surgical approaches that may be taken to satisfy this goal, there are two main categories that mastectomy/reconstruction procedures fall under: one-stage reconstruction and two-stage reconstruction. Reconstructive options must be thoroughly analyzed and then tailored to a specific individual, and there are many factors that determine a patient’s candidacy for one procedure over another, or for a combination of procedures.

Candidates for One-Stage Immediate Breast Reconstruction

One-stage reconstruction is a procedure in which saline or silicone implants are placed in a patient’s breast pocket immediately following mastectomy. Radiation therapy, which is reserved for very aggressive tumors that spread outside the boundary of the breast itself, plays a large role in determining a woman’s candidacy for one-stage reconstructive surgery. This is because radiation treatment not only chemically alters cancer cells, but can also affect normal, healthy breast tissue and skin cells, which can lead to complications post-reconstruction, such as delayed wound healing and infection.

As a result, the best candidates for one-stage reconstruction procedures are typically patients who:

– Have sufficient remaining breast skin following mastectomy

– Do not require radiation treatment following mastectomy and/or have no history of radiation treatment to the chest area

– Are in overall good health

One-stage reconstruction and augmentation is a suitable choice for patients who choose to undergo preventative prophylactic mastectomies and bilateral reconstruction. This is because both procedures can be performed on the bust at one time, and may provide far superior symmetrical results than if reconstructive efforts are performed years apart on each breast.

Candidates for Two-Stage Breast Reconstruction

In two-stage delayed reconstruction, the reconstructive effort is performed several months after mastectomy. Most candidates for this type of reconstruction have undergone significant radiation treatment prior to mastectomy or will undergo a lumpectomy and begin radiation treatment directly after cancer removal, so immediate augmentation is not recommended. As a result, surgical options for these patients generally involve a tissue flap or tissue expansion procedure. Tissue flap procedures use a portion of skin, fat, blood vessels, and sometimes muscular tissue from another area of the body to rebuild the breast and provide adequate tissue to support an implant. The most common tissue flap procedures involve harvesting tissues from the abdominal region or the upper back.

Tissue expansion is often an option for candidates who will have little skin remaining after mastectomy. Expansion involves placement of a temporary, expandable implant into the breast pocket during a breast removal procedure. The implant is filled with solution over a period of time to slowly expand the breast skin and enable implant placement at a later date.

For the Best Results

Breast augmentation and reconstruction following mastectomy must be tailored specifically to each patient and it is imperative that a patient work closely with her oncologist and a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery to decide which procedure or combination of procedures are best suited to her specific needs and medical treatment. Patients may be even better served by a surgeon with extensive training in both oncologic breast surgery, as well as plastic and reconstructive surgery, as he or she can provide surgical care and reconstruction in one setting.

Katie Perry is an online content editor in the Tampa Bay area. She posts articles about plastic surgery topics and procedures including breast augmentation, breast implants, and more.

Katie Perry is an online content editor in the Tampa Bay area. She posts articles about plastic surgery topics and procedures including http://bayshoreplasticsurgery.com/ breast augmentation, breast implants, and more.

Author Bio: Katie Perry is an online content editor in the Tampa Bay area. She posts articles about plastic surgery topics and procedures including breast augmentation, breast implants, and more.

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Keywords: breast augmentation, breast enhancement, breast enlargement, breast implants