Breast Cancer is an extremely common problem among women today. It is estimated that at least one out of every 9 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Often times effective treatment for many breast cancer patients involves breast sparring techniques such as lumpectomy plus radiation and often chemotherapy. For other patients, the most effective treatment for their breast cancer requires the complete removal of their breast or mastectomy.
For so many years great attention was paid to cosmetic improvement of the abdomen and relatively little to the buttocks region. With the advent of buttock augmentation by fat transfer, the combined cosmetic improvements now available to address problem buttock issues can offer patients an astounding degree of improvement for trunkal aesthetic issues.
In tissue expander breast reconstruction, a device that resembles a deflated breast implant is immediately placed at the site where the original breast was removed by the oncologic surgeon. The skin and muscles are closed over this device. Over the next several weeks the device is slowly inflated in the plastic surgeon’s office. As the device is filled approximately every 2 weeks with I.V. fluid, the overlying skin progressively stretches. The device itself is designed to expand the skin into an attractive breast shape. When the desired breast shape and size has been obtained a second brief outpatient procedure is performed to remove the expander device and replace it with a permanent reconstructive silicone gel breast implant. The remaining phase, the reconstruction of the nipple areolar complex, can often be accomplished as an in office procedure after a brief interval.
I feel the ability to offer a patient a very high quality breast reconstruction through the use of a surgical technique that adds minimally to her recovery time and allows her to return to her lifestyle as soon as possible is ideal.
