What is breast reconstruction?

Today breast reconstruction can be performed at the time of the mastectomy, under the same anesthetic, and a new breast mound can be created using your own living tissue or implants are safely used to rebuild a natural looking breast. Also due to the breast cancer treatment procedures, it could be required to be performed after mastectomy.

Even though mastectomies are performed sparingly today, it is still often a necessary procedure to effectively deal with breast cancer.

Breast reconstruction after removal of the breast due to cancer or other disease is one of the most successful operations of plastic surgery and it is now possible to create a breast that is very similar to a natural breast.

In early stage tumors, the repair process starts during the removal of the breast. If the stage of the tumor is advanced and postoperative radiotherapy is planned, repair is postponed until later.

Double Board Certified Doç. Dr. Fatih Irmak is specially trained, has valuable  experience in breast reconstruction surgeries.

Who is a candidate for breast reconstruction?

Breast loss adversely affects patients physically, socially and spiritually. Breast reconstruction procedures is very promising.

Before the precedure:

• The patient is expected to terminate chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and often a year later the repair process begins.
• If it is unclear whether patient will receive postoperative radiotherapy, an empty tissue expander is placed under the breast muscle during mastectomy and swelling is initiated after the end of treatments. In this way, the patient is saved from having an extra surgery.
• If you are a breast cancer surivor and your primer oncologist approves this procedure, not foresee a new radiotherapy process and have realistic expectations of what can be achieved by surgery you may be an ideal candidate.

The methods used for breast repair reconstruction

• Implant repairs
• Repairs using the patient’s own tissues
• Repairs using two methods together

The implant is placed under the breast muscle. If there is a skin loss during mastectomy, an empty silicone balloon called  tissue expander is placed under the chest muscle. After approximately 3 weeks of surgery and the healing of the tissues is completed, this silicone balloon is inflated with saline injections. The inflating process takes 2-3 months. As the tissue expander swells, the breast skin on it gradually expands. Inflating process, usually continues until 50% of the targeted breast size is reached. The patient is then re-operated, the tissue expander is removed and a silicone implant is replaced.

In patients with severe skin loss after mastectomy, in cases where the skin quality in the chest wall is not good, in patients who have received radiotherapy, their tissues are preferred over silicone implants.

When all stages of breast repair are completed and it is assured that symmetry is provided, repair of the nipple and surrounding aerola tissue is performed.