Breast Reconstruction

Breast Reconstruction With Your Own Tissue

If one or both of your breasts are or were affected by breast cancer, you may choose to have your breasts reconstructed at the time of breast removal or at a later date when all cancer treatments have been finalized. Or, you may carry the breast cancer gene, which gives you a very high risk of developing breast cancer, and you can choose to have your breast tissue removed to prevent developing breast cancer. 

If you have your breast(s) reconstructed at the time of breast removal, your plastic surgeon will team up with the breast surgeon, and both operations will be performed in one session. If you had your breast(s) removed in the past, then the plastic surgeon will reconstruct the breast(s) with his/her team. There are different options for breast reconstruction. The most natural reconstruction can generally be achieved by using your own tissue.There are several places on your body where you may have excess tissue available. The most common areas are on the abdomen, the buttocks or the thighs. The excess tissue on the abdomen is used for breast reconstruction most often. During this operation skin and fat from the lower abdomen, together with blood vessels supplying that issue, will be used. Your plastic surgeon will remove the tissue from the abdomen and shape a new breast for you. The tissue from the abdomen with the blood vessels will be connected through microsurgery to small blood vessels on the chest with the help of a surgical microscope. The scar on the abdomen where the tissue for the breast has been removed will be very similar to a scar that is left after a tummy tuck operation.