Lipofilling of the breast following lumpectomy

There continues to be more press about the technique of harvesting fat through liposuction from one area of the body and filling a lumpectomy defect of the breast in reconstruction, as evidenced by the article seen on the right column in WebMD... the concern is the longterm effects of fat in the remaining breast tissue whether or not that it affects surveillance, mammography or stimulates any cells from growing...

The Boston Channel

There was an article from our group posted this month on the Boston Channel (see below link) related to breast reconstruction using abdominal tissue while preserving muscle...
There are several options for breast reconstruction, and each may be better suited for each individual patient....

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/bethisrael/28472497/detail.html

Making the day

Few things make a breast reconstructive surgeon's day more than the realization of a patient when a breast reconstruction has restored their sense of being whole....
Thanks very much to the individual who posted a comment on "Light of the End of the Tunnel"- it is also a tribute to our entire staff who help us take the best care of our patients!

Avoiding radiation

I saw a patient this past week who was deciding between having a lumpectomy with radiation versus undergoing a complete mastectomy... Though everything depends on the pathology of the tumor, etc, and one's breast surgeon, indeed there are those patients who are able to have a mastectomy and avoid radiation altogether...

In reconstructive breast surgery, plastic surgeons ceratainly find the aspect of prior irradiation an important detail when planning a reconstruction

Light at the end of the tunnel

One of my favorite patients had her nipple-areola tattooing this past week and her husband had remarked to me what a difference breast reconstruction had made in her life... She was a patient who had, from the beginning, several decisions to make relating to chemotherapy and ultimately planning reconstruction. Breast reconstruction, to coordinate with planned therapy, is ultimately secondary to certainly cancer treatment, but a close second at that!

Partial mastectomy reconstruction

I just read about a recent development in Oregon, where the legislature at the end of May, voted to have insurance companies cover reconstruction of partial mastectomy patients, or patients having lumpectomies. Previously, only full or total mastectomies were covered in the state. This is a significant occurrence, as patients elsewhere may also may be able to have breast reconstruction, even in the cases of partial mastectomy.

Unilateral versus bilateral reconstruction timing

We saw a patient this past week who had had bilateral breast reconstruction using abdominal tissue.... only at two different settings with mastectomies at different times... on one side a tissue expander was placed and the skin expanded over time following a mastectomy. At a later time, the other mastectomy was performed with immediate reconstruction using abdominal tissue along with removal of the original tissue expander followed by breast reconstruction using abdominal tissue...

Not to add too many varibles, but it is important that with bilateral reconstruction with abdominal tissue (one side immediate, the other side delayed), that the "outside" skin incisions, etc will look different...