Breast Reconstruction is a plastic surgery procedure performed in case of women after mastectomy (breast amputation), as well as in those who suffer from the Poland’s syndrome (congenital absence of breasts). Thanks to this treatment the patient can finally enjoy the beautiful, feminine look.
Cancer – main reason for breast reconstruction
Often the cause of breast amputation is cancer, which forces patients to remove one of the most feminine and intimate parts of the female body. Breast cancer carries two negative effects for the patient. The first is the fear of disease and its consequences, which unfortunately turn out to be tragic for many patients. Second, there is also a concern of women who had the mastectomy, how to return to normal functioning and how they and their partners can accept the changes in their appearance. The implementation of the surgery depends primarily on the opinion of the oncologist, a psychologist and sometimes geneticist.
Breast reconstruction procedure depends on the degree of surgically removed tissue. There are four types of tissue removal. The first is the radical mastectomy, which involves removing the whole breast, including skin. The second procedure involves removing the tumor along with the shell. In this situation, the breast is not affected, you can only improve its appearance. In the third case, the procedure involves the removal of the breast with the nipple and the nipple sheath. In the last case, the surgeon removes the entire breast tissue, leaving the skin with the nipple and the nipple sheath. Depending on the degree of surgical intervention, you must select the appropriate method of breast reconstruction or improvement of its appearance. Women who want to undergo the procedure of the amputated breast reconstruction should carefully consider the pros and cons of the treatment. It can increase the patient’s peace of mind, and thus the confidence and awareness of herself and her female body.
The negative effects of the breast reconstruction surgery
On the other hand the patient must deal with the negative effects of the surgery, including scarring (often located well outside of the breast area, for example, on the back, abdomen). You should not expect the effect of naturalness and identical appearance as the other breast.
Contraindications of breast reconstruction
There are also many difficulties before carrying out this type of surgery. First of all, pay attention to obesity, which, unfortunately, can effectively influence the occurrence of adverse after-treatment effects. Another contradiction is smoking, which also increases the risk of complications, as well as a contribution to the development of cancer.
Methods of Breast Reconstruction
Breast reconstruction can be done in two ways: immediate reconstruction, or postponed reconstruction. Immediate reconstruction involves removing the tissue with the disease and immediate filling the loss with silicone breast implants. This kind of treatment is called prophylactic. The procedure which is postponed, involves a number of tests and therapeutic actions of the infected area. Then the action involving the reconstruction of the amputated breast takes place. There are three ways of the reconstruction of an amputated breast: reconstruction of own tissue, reconstruction of synthetic materials and a combination of synthetic materials and own tissue. Each of the three methods have their advantages and disadvantages.
The main advantage of own tissue reconstruction is that it is not a foreign material, so it will be easier accepted by the organism and the risk of complications is lower. With this type of surgery, not always the correction of the other breast is necessary. what is more, the belly flap can serve as a filling in the reconstruction of large breasts. The disadvantage of the application of own tissue is longer surgery time, the possibility of hernia, and increased post-operative care of the patient.
Reconstruction of synthetic material is characterized by high price, necessity to attend complementary applications, as well as the possibility of emptying of the implant. On the other hand, there are many advantages of this method of breast reconstruction. These include a lack of radical movement of skin flaps, as well as the possibility of performing another method of reconstruction in case this one is a failure.
The third type of reconstruction involves primarily shortening of the treatment and after-treatment care for the patient. It should also be noted that as a result of this treatment, there is no cavity in the wall of abdominal tissue. On the other hand, this procedure is especially recommended for slim women with smaller breasts. It is very often necessary to correct the other breast and also the possibility of after-treatment complications occurs.
Reconstruction of the amputated breast consists primarily of eliminating asymmetry between the breasts, as well as serves to increase the confidence and peace of mind of the patient. However, individuals who want to undergo the surgery should talk to their physicians in order to choose the most optimal method of breast reconstruction. This procedure can in fact make the woman get back to life before the illness.
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Klaudia has been working for a medical tourism company as a patient advisor for years. She has been helping a lot of patients from the UK, the USA, Scandinavia and many other countries. She knows very well foreign patients needs and she does her best to help them.
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