Breast Repairs After Breast Cancer

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Early diagnosis prolongs the life expectancy of patients with breast cancer. For this reason, breast repair operations have started to be performed to improve the patient’s quality of life after cancer treatment. Breast loss negatively affects patients physically, socially and psychologically. This kind of organ loss reminds the patient of the trauma they have experienced, distorts their body perception and makes them feel unappreciated. In cases where the other breast is large, marked asymmetries occur, which disrupt body balance and lead to spinal problems.

When are breast repair operations performed after breast cancer?

In early stage tumors, the repair process is also started during breast removal. If the tumor is at an advanced stage, the repair may be postponed until later or a tissue expander may be inserted. The patient is expected to finish chemotherapy and radiotherapy and the repair process is usually started after one year. If it is not clear whether she will receive radiotherapy after surgery, a hollow tissue expander is placed under the pectoral muscle during mastectomy (breast removal) and inflation is started after the end of the treatments. In this way, the patient is saved from having an extra surgery.

How long do Breast Repair Operations take?

Breast repair procedures are usually multi-session surgeries. The whole process takes close to a year. Among them, the major and painful procedure is often the first surgery. Subsequent procedures are shorter and less painful. The second operation is the removal of asymmetry with the other breast and fat injections into the newly made breast. The third operation is nipple repair. This is a very easy operation that does not affect daily life.

What are Breast Repair methods?

Breast repair with prostheses: In skin-sparing mastectomies in which the entire breast skin is preserved, and in “subcutaneous mastectomies” in which the nipple is also preserved, silicone prostheses can be placed directly. The prosthesis is placed under the chest muscle.

If there will be skin loss during the mastectomy, an empty silicone balloon called a “tissue expander” is placed under the chest muscle. After about 3 weeks after the surgery and the healing of the tissues is completed, this silicone balloon is inflated with saline injections. The inflation process takes 2-3 months. As the tissue expander inflates, the breast skin above it gradually expands. This enlargement is similar to the enlargement of a woman’s abdomen during pregnancy. The inflation process usually continues until 50% more than the targeted breast size is reached. The patient is then operated on again, the tissue expander is removed and replaced with a silicone prosthesis.

Breast repair with one’s own tissues: Repairs are performed by transporting skin and subcutaneous tissues from various parts of the body. This operation is performed on patients who do not have enough tissue in the chest area. If necessary, it can be performed simultaneously with prosthesis operations.

Fat injections in breast repairs have been on the agenda recently. Fat injection can be used alone in patients who do not have much skin loss and whose opposite breast is small. One time is often not enough and several applications may be needed. Apart from this, fat injections are frequently used as a supportive procedure for other methods. The accompanying stem cells make a great contribution to the improvement of the negative effects on the skin, especially after radiotherapy. After the injection, the skin softens, its color turns pink and the vascularization appearance decreases. In repairs with breast prosthesis, filling around the prosthesis with fat injections makes the breast look more natural and softer.

Recently, breast repair operations have started to be performed more frequently with breast removal. Improved techniques allow the two procedures to be performed at the same time. You can get detailed information about these procedures by consulting a plastic surgery doctor.