South Florida Breast Surgery

	Breast Augmentation
	Breast Reduction
	Breast Uplifting
	Breast Reconstruction
	Hormone Replacement Therapy

Breast Reconstruction Surgery in Boca Raton

To many mastectomy patients, breast reconstruction represents a positive step in regaining their self-image. Breast surgery using implants remains a viable option in breast reconstruction, and alternatives, including reconstructing sections of tissue taken from other parts of the body, such as the back, abdomen, buttocks or thighs, are available to women as well.

Physicians generally agree that breast reconstruction performed at the same time as mastectomy can offer breast cancer patients important physical and psychological benefits.

The South Florida TRAM Flap alternative

A more complex procedure than reconstruction with breast implants, the flap procedure uses one's own tissue containing fat to create a new breast. While results with the flap reconstruction can be natural looking, without having to use an implanted device in the body, the surgery has its drawbacks, including more scarring (at the breast, as well as at the site from which the tissue was taken) and the risk of tissue loss.

A widely used flap reconstruction is the TRAM, transverse rectus abdominal muscle flap, in which skilled plastic surgeons separate a sizable section of abdominal skin and muscle and use it to create a breast. The surgeon reroutes the flap inside the body, without removing it from the abdomen, flattening the abdominal area at the same time.

Women who are candidates for the TRAM flap are those who have extra skin in the abdomen. Then, once the breast is created, we construct a nipple using a skin graft from the inner thigh or from the areola on the opposite, healthy breast.

How Breast Reconstruction is Done    

While the process of breast reconstruction can usually begin right after the mastectomy, most cases of reconstruction require more than one operation. A variety of techniques can be used to reach the desired result. The most common combines gradual expansion of chest tissue with the use of breast implants. To expand the skin, doctors insert a temporary tissue expander below the skin's surface. Gradually the balloon-like expander is filled with a solution causing it to inflate and slowly expand the skin. Once the plastic surgeon has enough extra skin to work with, he removes the expander and replaces it with a permanent implant.

In the past, many cosmetic surgeons thought saline-filled implants failed to give patients the natural, smooth look of silicone gel-filled. Some also felt that the saline implants tended to rupture more easily. An alternative technique seems to have solved those problems. Today, instead of placing the implant above the muscle, many plastic surgeons insert the saline-filled implant beneath the breast muscle, where the tissue supports the implant. With the tissue surrounding the breast implant there is less of a chance that any unevenness on the surface of the implant will be evident on the outside of the breast. Besides looking better, the below-the-muscle technique reduces breast sagging and capsular contracture, or hardening around the implant.

Most experts agree that breast reconstruction does not interfere with cancer treatment or with one's ability to detect cancer recurrence. And, today, with sophisticated techniques and experienced plastic surgeons, all women have the option of reconstructive surgery, offering permanent and natural looking results.