Are you considering breast reconstruction surgery after cancer?
- Posted on: Oct 15 2022
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month – it’s a time to remind women to take care of themselves and a time to celebrate survival of this disease. If you have lost a breast to cancer, you may be considering breast reconstruction surgery, and you no doubt have a lot of questions as you make this decision.
What you should know about breast reconstruction
Dr. Bardia Amirlak and his staff are here to answer all of your questions and concerns – but in the meantime, here are a few things you should know:
• You can have breast reconstruction surgery no matter how old you are, although you should be in good overall health and be a nonsmoker.
• There are two basic types of reconstruction: implant and autologous. In implant reconstruction, an expander is placed under the skin, and over weeks or months saline is injected into the expander to stretch the skin. When there is enough skin, the expander can be left in place as the implant or it can be replaced with a saline or silicone gel implant. An autologous implant uses a woman’s own skin, fat, and muscle from a “donor site” such as the thighs, buttocks, abdomen, or back.
• If you’ve had cancer only on one side, your other breast may be operated on so that the two are the same shape and size.
• Breast reconstruction can’t restore sensation to the breast, although there may be more sensation with autologous tissue than with an implant.
• Studies have shown that having breast reconstruction does not make it more difficult to check for breast cancer in the future, and it won’t increase the odds of cancer reoccurring.
• Recovery time varies for each patient, but complete recovery can take 3 to 6 weeks. Patients typically have to stay in the hospital for 1 to 6 days after surgery.
If you have been through breast cancer, you and your loved ones have been through a lot. But you have control over what happens next! If you are considering breast reconstruction surgery, contact the office of Bardia Amirlak in Dallas, Texas, for a consultation. Call 972-972-4708 for an appointment today.
Posted in: Breast Implant Revision Surgery
