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Frequently Asked Breast Reconstruction Questions

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Breast reconstruction surgery is an emotionally charged process filled with a number of “what-ifs.” From basic questions regarding what to bring to the hospital to more complicated inquiries like what happens in surgery, we know that educating our patients is the first step to helping them feel comfortable with their decision to undergo breast reconstruction. Below are just a few of the common question we answer for our breast reconstruction patients.

What kind of clothes should I wear after surgery?

Many patients find that button-up and zip-up shirts are more comfortable the first week or more after surgery. Lifting your arms overhead may be difficult due to the nature of the surgery, so shirts with openings in the front will allow you to move more comfortably. Patients recommend soft, warm fabrics as many find hospitals on the chilly side. Some women say large camisoles that allow them to step into the shirt and pull it up or “bird-wing” their arms into the sleeves without raising them are also nice after surgery. Some companies make custom post-surgical shirts that are loose and even have pockets for drains.

What kind of scarring can I expect after breast reconstruction surgery?

Depending on the breast reconstruction technique used during your surgery, there are different incision placements. Some patients’ cases are less complicated and surgeons can try to hide scars. The flap procedures in which spare tissue is taken from the tummy can result in a tummy tuck like scar across the lower abdomen. Scars can be vertical, horizontal, straight, or curved. Each patient’s scars will be different because each woman’s medical needs are different. See Dr. Elliott’s breast reconstruction photo gallery to see the types of scars associated with specific surgical techniques.

Is breast reconstruction hard on the body? What is recovery like?

Each woman’s breast reconstruction situation is different. Some women undergo bilateral mastectomies of both breasts while others only have one removed. As such, each person’s recovery is different. Some breast reconstruction surgery techniques are less invasive than others. The TRAM procedures, for example, use tissue from another area of the body to replace the breast tissue lost during breast cancer removal surgery. Recovery from these surgeries generally takes longer. Dr. Franklyn Elliott provides all his breast reconstruction patients with specific aftercare instructions to ensure each patient’s recovery is as quick as possible.

Breast reconstruction surgery is never an easy choice. Some patients decide to have their surgery immediately after breast cancer removal, while some decide to wait or have to wait because of the need for radiation or other factors. We recommend you seek a consultation from a board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon like Dr. Franklyn Elliott along with your oncologist and general surgeon. There, you and your doctors can formulate a plan that best suits your needs, and you can ask any questions you may have.

To stay up to date on the latest breast cancer and reconstruction news, make sure to follow Dr. Elliott on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. You can also sign up for his monthly newsletter.

Have You Met Dr. Elliott’s Expertly Trained and Experienced Medical Team?

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Plastic surgery is a big commitment. We understand how difficult it is to trust your body to someone you’ve only met a few times. With over 60 years of combined experience, Dr. Elliott’s medical team works tirelessly to give each patient the attention and care he or she deserves. Answering patient questions and helping to ensure each person’s needs are met before and after the procedure, the medical team hopes to provide each patient with the comfort and peace of mind needed when preparing for cosmetic or reconstructive surgery.

Check out their bios on the medical team page to learn more. You can stay up to date on the latest plastic surgery news by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Prophylactic Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy and Methods of Reconstruction

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Though once popular in the 70s and 80s, the prophylactic mastectomy fell out of favor with doctors and patients in the 90s. However, the advances of mammography in the 90s and beyond have lessened the number of women who are choosing to have one or both of their breasts removed to prevent the advent or spread of breast cancer.

Fewer people are as supportive of preventative mastectomies nowadays because of the potential complications and reports of low patient satisfaction. Thinner skin used over implants can cause capsular contracture  or hardening of the tissue lining surrounding the implant.

In a chapter written for the textbook Surgery of the Breast, Dr. Franklyn Elliott writes regarding patient satisfaction:

Patients did not believe they were properly prepared for some of the results of these major surgical procedures, and because they did not have frank breast cancer, were not in the mind-set to deal properly with major surgical extirpation and reconstruction.

However, in a recent study only 5% of patients regretted undergoing prophylactic mastectomy and reconstruction surgery. Many felt that were inadequately prepared for the pain and incapacitation of the recovery period.

For this reason, it’s important that a plastic surgeon is one of the many consulting surgeons who advise a potential mastectomy and breast reconstruction patient.

Many women who are at a high risk for potential breast cancer and those who’ve had one breast removed because of cancer seek preventative mastectomies.  There are many factors that oncologists, general surgeons, and plastic surgeons should consider before suggesting a prophylactic mastectomy for a patient including heredity, the breast cancer gene (BRCA1 and BRCA2), previous diagnoses, and more. It must also be explained to patients that advances in mammography techniques have made it easier to track potential cancers without removing the entire breast.

Choosing a preventative unilateral or bilateral mastectomy is a difficult choice for any woman. According to the chapter written by Dr. Elliott, the “plastic surgeon must limit his or her role to the very accurate description of the patient’s options after mastectomy and, equally important, a full and complete discussion of the recovery phase and the expected result.”

Oftentimes, prophylactic mastectomy patients are shown before and after pictures of women who have had breast cancer and undergone mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery. It’s important that patients are given information specific to their particular procedure, regardless of the similarities between their procedures and another patient’s.

It’s rare that women with no risk factors are interested in prophylactic mastectomies with reconstructions. Some patients are motivated by fear. However a lack of risk factors in patients seeking prophylactic mastectomies probably means that they should not be considered for surgery.

Though controversial among some doctors and patients, there are benefits to preventative mastectomy and breast reconstruction. In the chapter, Dr. Elliott concludes, “With the variety of techniques available for breast reconstruction, intelligent management of the overlying skin, and gradual formation of the breast mass itself, patients can be increasingly assured of complete or near complete breast tissue removal and safe, predictable, uncomplicated breast reconstruction.”

To read the chapter, click here (link to PDF). Other articles written and used by Dr. Franklyn Elliott can be found on his articles page. You can also connect with him on Facebook and Twitter for the latest in plastic and reconstructive surgery news.

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