Patient - Breast Reconstruction

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Click on an image below to see a larger version.

Before

This young woman was diagnosed with cancer of her right breast. She elected to have a mastectomy (removal of the entire breast) and desired reconstruction. I felt she would do well with reconstruction with an implant. I also suggested a technique to save the nipple/areola complex. I marked the breast for the surgeon as though doing a breast lift. At the time of surgery, I removed the nipple/areola complex first. The surgeon then removed the breast following my suggested incisions. I inserted a tissue expander, closed the incisions, and replaced the nipple/areola complex as a graft. She did beautifully and recovered without incident, but her expansion was unusual in that her expander failed and deflated just shy of 4 weeks after surgery. Despite this, I was able to get expanded to where I could take her back to surgery 3 weeks later to replace the expander with an implant. At the same, I planned a lift of the left breast to even her up nicely. 

After

She is shown 6 months after her last surgery. When I removed her expander, there was a tear where one of the suture tabs was attached to the expander. This has apparently been recognized as a problem with this particular expander and I no longer use them. Her implant is a 520 cc Allergan Natrelle Style SSF smooth, round, full profile gel implant. Now, she looks more like someone who has had both breasts lifted rather than a cancer patient.