Breast reconstruction is the operation to restore lost breast in women whose breasts have been removed due to breast cancer. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women. It is seen in approximately one in nine women. A person with breast cancer is at risk of losing their breast, which is a very important sexual object and milk-producing tissue, as well as fear of cancer. When treating cancer, they also try to deal with the psychological problems caused by breast removal.
BREAST AESTHETIC
Breast Reconstruction.
What Does It Mean To Have The Breast Reconstructed?
When Can Breast Repair Be Done After A Mastectomy?
There are two different approaches in this regard. Immediate repair or late repair. The aesthetic benefits of immediate or simultaneous breast repair are much better. It is generally used to treat early cancers. But it is also used for advanced cancer. In particular, the breast of the person using their own tissue does not prevent additional treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Late repairs are breast reconstruction after the treatments to be applied after the person’s breast is removed.
What Methods Can Be Used To Reconstruct The Breast?
There are basically two different methods.
1) Make breasts with silicone prostheses or tissue expanders.
2) Production of the breast using the person’s own tissue (autologous tissue).
Which technique to choose depends on the general condition of the patient, the structural features of the chest wall, the extent of the lack of tissue and the preferences of the patient and the doctor.
When Is It Possible To Make A Breast With Tissue Expansion (Balloon Method)?
This method can be selected if the lack of tissue on the side with the mastectomy is 7 to 8 cm and the existing tissue quality on the chest wall does not cause any problems during tissue expansion, i.e. if the pectoral muscle is not removed during the mastectomy. A tissue-expanding prosthesis (balloon) is placed under the pectoral muscle, then this balloon is periodically inflated and the desired enlargement is achieved. This period is approximately 3 months. As soon as the enlargement has reached the maximum, the balloon is lowered and waited for about 4-6 months to achieve the natural lowness of the breast. Then the tissue expander is removed and a permanent silicone prosthesis is placed in the space created. In recent years, some tissue expanders have contained both the silicone prosthesis and the balloon, so they do not need to be replaced at the end of treatment.
How Many Sessions Does A Breast Reconstruction Take?
Reconstruction of a breast removed by breast cancer is possible in two or three sessions. The breast mass removed during the first operation is reconstructed. 2. In surgery; It is ensured that both breasts are as close as possible in shape and size. In the third session, the nipple is made on the reconstructed breast. We can consider the first operation as large, the second as medium and the third as small.
When And How Is The Nipple And Areola (The Colored Area Around The Nipple) Made?
Breast reconstruction is the last stage of your surgery. It can usually be done under local anesthesia. There are many techniques, such as local flaps, used in nipple repair, using half of the opposite nipple. Skin vaccines or Tatuaj methods (tattoo methods) can be selected for the formation of the areola.
What Is The Best Technique For Breast Reconstruction?
The crucial situation in deciding which technique is the best and most appropriate technique; What method is used during mastectomy? In other words, what amount and texture remains in the chest wall after the breast is removed. Your plastic surgeon will decide which method to use after the physical examination. While it is best for some patients to apply a silicone prosthesis directly, tissue must be transferred from some areas of the body to some and to others.
In Which Case Is It Possible To Make A Breast Using Only A Silicone Prosthesis?
Mastectomy (the side from which the breast is taken) is a method that can be chosen if the lack of tissue on the side is less than 5 cm and there is enough subcutaneous tissue at the mastectomy site to cover the prosthesis and provide support. It is an easier method than other options. The perspective may not be very natural. When the pectoralis major is standing, the breast is made by placing an appropriate volume of a silicone prosthesis in the space formed under this muscle.
What Is It Like To Do Breast Reconstruction Surgery With The Abdominal Tissue?
Breast repair with abdominal flap (rectus abdominis): This is the most commonly used technique in breast reconstruction and the most popular technique in recent years. This technique does not excrete the tissue that is discarded during a tummy tuck surgery (including a small amount of abdominal skin, subcutaneous fat, and flat abdominal muscle) and is used in breast repair. At the same time, the patient’s abdomen is tightened during this operation. No other material needs to be used while the breast is being repaired with the flap of the abdominal tissue. The rag alone is enough to create a large breast.
What Is It Like To Perform Breast Reconstruction Surgery On The Back Tissue?
If the lack of tissue on the side with mastectomy is more than 7-8 cm, the latissimus dorsi muscle on the back and some skin on it are used to provide the necessary tissue support. In general; This muscle alone is not enough to make enough breast tissue, so it may be necessary to use a silicone prosthesis. But if we want to achieve a small breast, the muscle alone can be enough.
What Does It Mean To Perform The Breast Using The Microsurgical Method (Free Tissue Transfer)?
It is the most sophisticated breast repair option. It is the process of taking a tissue from the distant area of the body and the artery along with its veins, bringing it into the chest area and suturing the artery together with its veins under the microscope and giving this tissue the shape of the breast . The tissue flap (rectus abdominis), the hip flap (buttock flap), the thigh flap (anterolateral thigh flap) can be listed under the tissue options to be transferred. Sometimes these flaps can also be made with only perforating skin vessels.
How Long Does It Take For The Breast To Be Fully Created?
The fact that people considering breast reconstruction should be accepted from the start is that this process requires patience. This process cannot be completed in just one session. 2 or 3 sessions are required. The first of these operations is a large and long-lasting operation. Other sessions are the surgeries required to reproduce the breast with the reconstructed breast and to perform the other breast in a similar and shorter manner, sometimes under local anesthesia (nipple repair). This process can take up to 9 months to a year to complete, depending on the recovery phases. Sometimes it can take a little longer.
Have a question about Aesthetics?
Me and my team will be happy to answer all your questions.