Risks of Breast Reconstruction Surgery
As with any type of major surgery, breast reconstruction has certain inherent risks. Complications such as bleeding, inflammation, and infection are always a possibility, and some patients can suffer from significant post-surgical pain. With respect to the implant procedure, in 5-10% of cases the saline or silicone bags will rupture within 10 years and need to be replaced. Probably the most common side effect with this kind of surgery is a condition called capsular contracture, which involves the formation of excessive scar tissue and a subsequent hardening of the breast that may cause discomfort and eventually necessitate removal of the implant. The flap procedure does not fail as often as implant reconstruction, but because it is a more complicated type of surgery patients spend more hours in the operating room and more days in the hospital (up to five or six) afterward, thereby providing greater opportunity for unexpected complications to arise.
Making a Final Decision About Breast Reconstruction
The benefits of breast reconstruction surgery are largely psychological. Mastectomies are dreaded for a reason, and knowing that physical appearance does not have to be permanently altered when this procedure is performed is something that can bring relief and peace of mind to breast cancer sufferers. While all surgery comes with risk, breast reconstruction is a relatively safe procedure, and even when it fails and implants or tissue needs to be removed long-term complication seldom occur.
For women facing mastectomy, the choice about whether or not to have breast reconstruction surgery should only be made after they have had a chance to discuss the subject completely with the medical professionals who would be performing the operation. Once candidates for the procedure are clear in their minds about the risks and the benefits, only then should a final decision be made. Even though breast reconstruction can change things for the better for women worried about their appearance after breast cancer surgery, what is being considered is still a complicated medical procedure. This is something that must be taken into account by any woman planning to have such an operation done during a time when they are already dealing with the emotional and physical stresses associated with breast cancer and breast cancer treatment. But if, ultimately, the decision is made to go ahead and have breast reconstruction performed, those choosing this option can rest easy knowing that the techniques and methodologies in this area have improved by leaps and bounds over the past several years.
The Breast Reconstruction Option
Mastectomies have often left breast cancer patients who have chosen to have this surgical procedure performed feeling as if something has been irrevocably lost. While this operation has helped to save many lives, there is no escaping the fact that a mastectomy is a radical form of surgery that leaves a woman's body noticeably changed, and changed forever. Given this reality, it is hardly surprising that this medical procedure has traditionally been anticipated with a sense of dread by most women diagnosed with breast cancer.
But things are starting to change. Mastectomies may still be a form of major surgery, but women have new options available that can help them recover much of what has been lost. Modern techniques in breast reconstruction surgery have advanced and developed to the point where a breast removed by mastectomy can be replaced with something that recreates the shape, size, texture, and overall appearance of the natural breast to a high degree of accuracy.
Breast Reconstruction Methods
There are two different types of breast reconstruction surgery now being performed by doctors trained in advanced reconstructive techniques. One involves the insertion under the chest wall of a temporary balloon-like device that can be gradually inflated by the addition of saline solution injections. This device can either be inserted in the surgical room immediately following a mastectomy, or be put in later if the patient prefers. Upon initial insertion the balloon device will be in a deflated state, and the patient will then return to the doctor's office on a weekly basis for approximately two months to have the device progressively inflated, until its size reaches a predetermined level. This procedure stretches the skin to the point where it is ready to accept implants without excessive stress, and during final breast reconstruction surgery the temporarily inflated balloon will be removed and replaced with an implant made from either silicone or saline.
The second type of breast reconstruction surgery, known as a flap procedure, involves the removal of tissue from other areas of the body such as the abdomen, buttocks, or thighs, and the implantation of that tissue in the place where the breast used to be. Micro-surgical techniques may be needed to help disconnect and reconnect blood vessels in the flap of tissue that is removed and relocated to the area of the breast, and as a result this type of reconstructive surgery is more complicated and time-consuming than the implant procedure. However, when new breasts are created from actual tissue in a woman's body, the results usually come closer to replicating the look and feel of the original breast.
Once breast reconstruction has been completed, after a few weeks or a few months of healing women can return to also have the nipple and areola rebuilt, usually from tissues taken right from the newly created breast.
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