Timing: same session or later
Performed in the same session as the cancer operation. Never experiencing the loss of the breast is its greatest advantage for the patient. Because the breast skin is preserved, the aesthetic result is usually better.
Performed after chemotherapy and radiotherapy are complete, usually between six months and a year later. In patients due to have radiotherapy, waiting for the tissue to heal can be safer.
Having had breast surgery years ago is no obstacle to reconstruction. It can be done at a late stage too.
Methods
There are two basic routes; in some patients the two are combined.
- Implant reconstruction: a silicone implant is placed. In some patients a tissue expander is inserted first, and once the skin has been stretched gradually it is replaced with an implant. The operation and recovery are shorter.
- Reconstruction with your own tissue: tissue taken from the abdomen or back is transferred to the breast. The result is more natural and more lasting; the operation and recovery take longer.
Rebuilding the nipple and the darker ring around it is usually completed in a small later procedure. The other breast may also be adjusted for symmetry.
Two frequently asked questions
No. There is no evidence that reconstruction hides a recurrence or increases the risk of the cancer coming back. Follow-up continues with examination and, where needed, imaging.
Touch sensation in the rebuilt breast will not be as it was. Partial sensation may develop over time. Knowing this from the outset matters for judging the result fairly.
Which method suits you is decided by weighing your body shape, whether you smoke, the planned oncological treatments and your expectations. Where necessary we work together with plastic surgery.