When is Breast Reconstruction Performed?

April 9th, 2018 | Posted in: Breast Reconstruction | Tags: Breast Reconstruction, cancer, chemotherapy, treatment

There are a number of different breast reconstruction options for patients of varying needs and wants. When it comes to your plastic surgery needs, you should be informed in the safe and correct way.

At Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery, we have several breast reconstruction options to accommodate as many of our patients’ needs as possible. One of the most common questions our patients ask is, “When is breast reconstruction performed?”

There are multiple correct answers to that question!

You have the power to choose when, where, and what type of breast reconstruction procedure to be performed. Our job is to inform you about the possibilities you have when it comes to choosing a breast reconstruction process.

Below, we’ve listed some of the options that are possible with us. Read up on what type of procedure and surgery plan works best with your needs. Whether you want a simple augmentation, or you are looking for your reconstructive options after surgery, you are sure to find the answers to your questions here. For more information about plastic surgery in Beverly Hills, contact Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery today.

Immediate Breast Reconstruction

Some patients choose to have their reconstruction done at the very same time as their mastectomy. If you are a cancer patient seeking a single or double mastectomy through your breast cancer surgeon, you can have your breasts reconstructed from natural tissue or an implant while you’re still on the operating table.

With this method of reconstruction, your breast cancer surgeon will need to work closely with your plastic surgeon to make sure that the surgeries are being coordinated as planned. That way, you can feel safe and confident knowing that you will get the results you want.

Depending on your cancer status, your surgeon may suggest that you have partial immediate construction, and partial delayed construction. This might be the case for you if you are still attending chemotherapy sessions or need to wait on other cancer treatments.

Delayed Reconstruction

As briefly mentioned above, delayed reconstruction involves breast reconstruction after a mastectomy is performed. This is because popular cancer treatments like radiation therapy can sometimes alter the look of your newly reconstructed breasts, causing them to change in appearance, color, texture, and even size.

In order to prevent any sort of risk in ruining the procedure, delayed reconstruction may be recommended over immediate reconstruction. A typical waiting period is between 6 and 12 months from the initial mastectomy or lumpectomy procedure. However, you can choose to have your surgery done whenever you wish.

Delayed-Immediate Reconstruction

This is also known as a “staged” approach to reconstruction, where the surgeon will perform some enhancements immediately, while the rest of the reconstruction will wait until after cancer treatments and breast cancer surgeries are complete.

With delayed-immediate reconstruction, the surgeon will likely place a tissue expander under your chest muscle, which will save a lot of your breast skin after the breasts are removed. That way, you can retain the shape of your sought-after reconstruction look while still being able to go through radiation therapy successfully.

Once your radiation treatments are complete, the expander is removed and then replaced with natural tissue to form your desired look.

Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills

Ultimately, the choice of how and when to perform your breast reconstruction surgery is completely up to you. If you are in certain stages of cancer, and you are undergoing chemotherapy and other treatment options, it may be best to wait to have your reconstructive surgery done. Otherwise, you can consult with your surgeons about how to implement reconstructive procedures during your mastectomy surgery.

For more information about these procedures, as well as the other cosmetic surgeries we offer in our top-rated office, you can contact us online at any time. Or, you can give us a call at (310) 888-8087 to speak to a professional staff member right away about plastic surgery in Beverly Hills!