Whether you have undergone lumpectomy, radical mastectomy or mastectomy, you may lose a portion of the breast or an entire breast due to cancer. At Cutis, expert cosmetic surgeons can rebuild your breasts through post cancer breast reconstruction surgery.
At Cutis, your breasts are rebuilt via breast reconstruction surgery whilst maintaining their natural shape/droop/size following radical mastectomy/mastectomy/lumpectomy.
Steps of surgical procedure depends on the type of breast reconstruction surgery;
The recovery period also depends upon the surgical procedure for breast reconstruction. You may need to stay at Cutis hospital for one day or for several days, depending upon the extent of surgical procedure.
At Cutis, a plastic surgeon will advise you about showering, bathing, and wound care on the day of discharge.
At Cutis,
A team of skilled & experienced surgeons
Expert nursing staff
Advanced surgical tools and sanitized set-up/tools
Yes. At Cutis, we can reconstruct your breast using either breast implants or tissue flaps (autologous flaps) from your body.
A cosmetic surgeon will talk to you regarding different methods of breast reconstruction and regarding the suitability of a particular method based upon your unique conditions. A surgeon may consider the following factors to determine the suitability of a method for breast reconstruction.
Implant based breast reconstruction can be performed immediately or a few months after the mastectomy or radical mastectomy. There are three types of reconstruction surgery using breast implants.
Immediate Reconstruction
A surgeon inserts an implant in front of the chest muscle or under the muscle.
This procedure is suitable in the following scenarios.
The cancerous tissues have been removed without taking away a lot of skin.
The remaining breast is not large and does not have a significant droop.
A surgeon may use a dermal sling to provide additional support to the implants if you have large breasts.
A dermal sling is made from your own tissue that is harvested from the lower half of the breast.
Delayed Reconstruction
A delayed breast reconstruction is suitable in the following scenarios.
In this scenario, a permanent/temporary tissue expander is placed in order to preserve the empty space. The tissue expander is placed behind the chest muscle at the time of mastectomy.
A surgeon does not inflate the expander until the completion of radiation therapy.
It is inflated gradually over time using a port attached to the implant.
The implant is filled with a saline solution every one- or two-weeks’ time.
A patient may feel a little tightness or stretching sensation due to expansion of muscle or overlying skin.
The expander is inflated until the new breast is slightly larger than the remaining breast.
The port is taken out later under local anesthesia.
A small operation is performed after the radiation therapy to remove the expander and port.
It is replaced with a permanent implant that is in the final breast shape of a patient
The aforementioned steps are performed depending upon the type of expander if a patient wants to wait for the healing of scar before reconstructing the breast.
A surgeon may use the flaps of your own tissue along with the skin, fat and muscle for the reconstruction of breast.
Flap remains attached at one end to the blood vessels.
Hence, the blood supply to the muscle remains intact.
A flap is fully detached from the body along with the blood vessels
It is reattached through microsurgery in the position of reconstructed breast
Types of flaps depending upon the site wherefrom the flaps have been harvested –
A large muscle that remains in the back, below the shoulder blade, is used as a flap.
A free flap that contains skin and fat and is devoid of any muscle
Rectus abdominis muscle is used to create this flap
The skin is removed transversely
The skin and fat from the lower abdomen are used without removing any muscle.
Superficial vessels are harvested.
Fat and skin are harvested from the upper or lower buttock to develop a flap.
Tissue is harvested from the upper inner thigh
It consists of skin, fat and a strip of muscle
The complications of post cancer breast reconstruction surgery vary depending upon the surgical method.
Immediate Complications
Long-Term Complications
Tough fibrous tissue may build up around the implant and form a ‘capsule’
It happens if your body regards an implant as a foreign object and wants to isolate it.
Formation of lump in the reconstructed breast if the area of fatty tissues is damaged or blood supply is inadequate
We provide effective surgical and non-surgical treatments for all parts of the body. At Cutis Hospital, our cosmetic and plastic surgery team is committed to giving patients safe and high-quality care.
