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Breast cancer treatments could alter the symmetry, shape, and size of your breasts, leaving you unhappy with their appearance. If you have undergone treatment for only one breast, you may struggle with chest asymmetry that affects your confidence and makes it difficult to shop for clothes. However, breast reconstruction is an excellent option for restoring breast volume and regaining your natural, beautiful appearance.
Depending on your specific health concerns and cosmetic goals, Dr. Yaghoubian can help you choose between breast implants or tissue transfer for your reconstructive surgery. Additionally, if a mastectomy has removed your nipples, reconstruction surgery could recreate their appearance for further breast improvement. If you are considering breast reconstruction in Tarzana, call our clinic to learn how our procedures can restore your appearance and build your confidence.
Mastectomy and lumpectomy surgeries treat breast cancer by removing tissue, changing the breast size, shape, and symmetry. The goal of breast reconstruction operations is to replace lost tissue and restore breast shape and size for an improved chest appearance.
In some cases, these surgeries may affect only one breast, resulting in more pronounced breast asymmetry. Breast reconstruction can also create symmetry in the chest for a natural, pleasing appearance.
Surgical breast cancer treatments may also remove the nipples and areolas. In these cases, Dr. Yaghoubian can also reconstruct the nipples to achieve a natural look to the breasts.
Our Tarzana clinic offers two surgical options for breast reconstruction: breast implants or flap surgery, which uses tissue from another body area. Dr. Yaghoubian has successfully performed both types of operations and can help you determine which strategy best suits your needs.
One options for breast reconstruction is to use implants to restore lost volume in the breasts. Our clinic uses either silicone gel or saline options for implants. For this procedure, patients may need operations to expand chest tissue for proper implant placement. This procedure can enhance contours, increase volume, and improve symmetry of the breasts.
Breast reconstruction with flap surgery utilizes body tissue from a separate area, typically the abdomen, to reconstruct breast shape and volume. Choosing flap surgery for breast reconstruction could provide a more natural look and feel than using implants. This surgical option restores breast shape, size, symmetry, and contours. However, aging effects could be more noticeable over time using this method, as flap surgery uses natural body tissue.
It is crucial to discuss your goals and concerns with Dr. Yaghoubian to gain a realistic sense of your surgical outcome. After reconstruction, breasts may not look exactly the same as they did before a mastectomy or other breast surgery. Additionally, reconstructed breasts will not have the same sensations as natural ones, and there may be visible scarring. However, working with a highly ranked surgeon such as Dr. Yaghoubian is the best way of achieving your ideal appearance while minimizing scarring and other unwanted side effects.
Since breast reconstruction surgery in Tarzana is a significant invasive procedure, it poses typical surgical risks. For instance, patients might experience bleeding, bruising, swelling, soreness, extreme fatigue, and infections at incision sites. In addition, potential risks include fluid buildup underneath the skin, changes in breast and nipple sensation, and tissue death.
For patients who choose breast implants instead of flap surgery, the implants pose a few potential health complications, such as ruptures, leaks, or capsular contracture, which is hard, painful scar tissue within the breasts. As a result, some patients may need additional corrective surgery after an initial breast reconstruction procedure to correct the complications and the appearance changes. In addition, many breast reconstruction patients need physical therapy during recovery to regain strength, adjust to performing daily activities again, and test their new physical limitations.
Immediately after breast reconstruction surgery, patients must wear a compression garment as support during recovery. A normal bra, such as an underwire bra, does not provide enough support to breast tissue, which could result in improper healing and complications. Instead, compression bras and other more supportive options are necessary for the first four to six weeks of recovery after breast reconstruction.
Typically, a compression or surgical bra has thicker straps than normal bras to provide more support to breast tissue. In addition, they have a front zipper to make it easier to take on and off during the recovery period. After breasts fully heal, normal bras containing seams or underwire might irritate sensitive or scarred breast skin.
Though breast reconstruction could correct several cosmetic breast concerns, the procedure may be medically necessary for some individuals. Specifically, the surgery is medically necessary for women correcting congenital abnormalities or restoring breasts after mastectomy surgery for breast cancer treatment. In addition, the procedure may be essential if it is correcting complications from breast implants, such as capsular contracture.
Several factors could affect the breasts’ initial appearance after reconstruction surgery in Tarzana, especially with flap technique procedures. For instance, the body reabsorbs a small portion of the excess body fat used during a flap technique for reconstruction over several months. In addition, swelling can affect breast shape and size, so patients typically see their final breast size and shape after three to six months of recovery. However, some factors might extend this timeline by a few months, such as previous radiation therapy for breast cancer.
Some women in Tarzana may need follow-up surgeries after breast reconstruction to correct complications or for additional enhancements. For example, if a woman chooses to reconstruct her nipples with body tissue, the procedure occurs three months after breast reconstruction. At the same time, a woman might undergo a follow-up procedure for minor cosmetic breast adjustments, including breast symmetry.
In addition to cosmetic changes, an additional procedure may be necessary to make revisions after the initial reconstruction. For instance, a follow-up surgery is best to remove the hardened scar tissue formed after the initial reconstruction surgery. However, every patient is unique, so some patients may not require any follow-ups.
If surgical cancer treatment has left you unhappy with your breasts’ appearance, speak with our surgical team about restoring their shape and size through implants or flap surgery. Beyond breast appearance improvement, breast reconstruction could also solve your wardrobe difficulties, especially if you struggle with breast asymmetry after surgery. Our clinic offers multiple options for breast reconstruction surgery in Tarzana to achieve your unique goals.
Breast reconstruction is a highly individualized process, and Dr. Yaghoubian takes the time to fully understand your situation so that she can achieve your exact wishes. If you are searching for a uniquely empathetic and patient-centered plastic surgeon, call our office today. We are here to listen to your perspective and achieve those confidence-boosting results.