After a diagnosis of breast cancer you may be thinking ahead to possibly wanting a breast reconstruction. Talk to your surgeon before you have your initial surgery as it may help him/her decide on the way the surgery is carried out.
Immediate Reconstruction
While very good results can be achieved when reconstruction is delayed, immediate reconstruction offers distinct benefits:
- it is done at the same time as the mastectomy
- most of your breast skin is preserved
- your mastectomy incision is shorter and less obvious
- you wake up from surgery with a breast mound in place, so you never experience a completely flat chest
- combining a mastectomy and reconstruction into one operation saves you having to have another anaesthetic and going through added recovery time
If you have immediate reconstruction, your breast surgeon and plastic surgeon will co-ordinate your surgery date. They will also agree how the mastectomy incision will be made to best accommodate your reconstruction. Your breast surgeon will perform your mastectomy and, whilst under anaesthetic, your plastic surgeon will do the reconstruction. There are surgeons who are qualified to do both.
Delayed Reconstruction
Although immediate breast reconstruction has many advantages, your breast can be rebuilt with good results a month, a year or 10-20 years after your mastectomy.
Many women opt to delay having a reconstruction because of having chemotherapy and radiotherapy and being advised by their doctor/oncologist to wait and see how the treated skin on the mastectomy site will be affected. However, a mastectomy scar is permanent. With a delayed reconstruction your surgeon will open your mastectomy scar to accommodate an expander or tissue flap. Other reasons why it is best to delay reconstruction:
- if you have an existing health condition that may add to your surgical risk or impede healing
- if you are too overwhelmed with your cancer and mastectomy to deal with reconstruction issues and decisions
- if you are still unsure about reconstruction at the time of your mastectomy, or if you want to try a prosthesis first