The latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show that in 2005, 185,000 women and 1500 men were diagnosed with breast cancer. It is one of the top ten causes of death for women in the United States, and because younger women are more keenly aware of their family history of breast cancer, they are making very difficult and often emotionally painful decisions about their health care. This includes undergoing mastectomies to remove the breasts completely. Some have even chosen to under go mastectomies even before cancer is present, if they feel the odds are against them. Although this is a difficult experience to go through, women are able to regain some sense of what it means to be a woman, in a traditional sense, with breast reconstruction.
During your consultation and pre-surgery visits, your reconstructive plastic surgeon will help you choose which option is best for your situation. If you are electing to have breast augmentation implants, then they are usually inserted through the scar that already exists from your prior surgery. If it is necessary, a breast lift on the unaffected breast is performed using a short scar technique. This will allow symmetry between the affected breast and the normal breast. At this point, other reconstructive options include areola and nipple reconstruction, areola and nipple tattooing and subtle fine tuning of the breasts to make them look as symmetrical and natural as possible. [click to continue…]
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