Breast Reconstruction - Teleconsultation

Breast reconstruction.

Hello, I am Dr. Fernando Amato, Plastic Surgeon.

Today I will talk about breast reconstruction.

Breasts represent much more than the organ for breastfeeding; they are a symbol of female sensuality and play a fundamental role in the aesthetics of the female body.

Breast cancer treatment can be mutilating. In addition to deformities in the breast, it causes a significant emotional impact.

In Brazil, it is every woman's right, both in the SUS (Unified Health System) and with private health insurance, to undergo breast reconstruction during cancer treatment.

Reconstruction can be immediate, meaning at the same time as the cancer removal, or it can be delayed, after cancer treatment with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy has been completed.

The best timing for surgery is chosen according to each patient, and will depend    on the patient's wishes, as well as various factors… including clinical conditions, which is why immediate surgery is not always possible.

Reconstruction will depend  mainly on the characteristics of the breast… whether in size… volume… and  shape… especially on the  surgical proposal of the mastologist.

What will be done? ………..

Quadrantectomy? which is the removal of a part of the breast

or

Mastectomy? which is the removal of the entire breast?

With this information, for example, reconstruction can be done only with remaining breast tissues, and depending on the location, it can have a result similar to a breast reduction.

In addition, it can be done with the

use of silicone implants  and expanders

An expander is a small balloon that can be expanded with saline in the doctor's office to gain skin… and when the ideal volume is reached, it is replaced by an implant.

When there isn't enough skin, a flap can be used, which is the movement of tissues from other areas.

One example is the latissimus dorsi muscle flap, which comes from the back to the front with an island of skin, and the muscle can also cover an implant to give more volume to the breast.

Another option is the TRAM flap, where tissue from the abdomen is used, resulting in an outcome similar to an abdominoplasty.

Many other techniques exist, even with autologous flap transplantation. Flaps are taken from various body sites to reconstruct the breast.

After the breast is reconstructed, it is possible to create the areola and nipple, which can be done with the patient's own tissue using grafts and flaps, and now micropigmentation is widely performed as a less invasive option.

Furthermore, it is important to remember that it is also the patient's right to have plastic surgery on the other breast to make it more similar, i.e., symmetrized.

Well, that's what I had to say about breast reconstruction.

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