Question
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Breast Liposuction Coupled with a Circumareolar Reduction?
Trade off between scars and contour
Sep 7, 2012
I also agree. Smartlipo and a periareolar lift will only work well for very small reductions. In order to get the best possible shape, you will have to be willing to accept the trade off of scars for breast size and contour.
Does Insurance Cover Tubular Breasts Since It is Considered a ‘Congenital Anomaly’ ?
Insurance Coverage for Tubular Breast Surgery
May 23, 2011
I agree with the other surgeons- obtaining coverage can be difficult, but it is not necessarily impossible. Whether or not you are eligible to have insurance coverage for surgery will depend on how severely you are affected and on your insurance plan's "specific plan benefit". The specific plan benefit is essentially the contact you have with your insurer that specifies whether of not such surgery might be covered or is automatically excluded from coverage. If it might be…
Had DIEP Flap Surgery – Incision on Belly Splitting Badly
Wound separation after DIEP flap
Apr 12, 2011
I agree with the other surgeons who have responded. Wound complications and infections can occur after DIEP flap surgery and it sounds like your surgeon is working to help get the wound closed. The human body has a remarkable ability to heal in situations like this. Make sure you continue to see your surgeon regularly. It sounds like this will take some time to fully heal, but in most cases, it will not compromise your results in the end.
Breast Reconstruction After MRSA?
Breast Reconstruction after MRSA IInfection
Mar 1, 2011
The simple answer is yes- it is certainly possible to have breast reconstruction after a MRSA infection.
In my practice, I always use preoperative antibiotics to help prevent infection-in the case os women who have had MRSA before, I choose an antibiotic effective against MRSA in case they are still carriers of MRSA on their skin or mucous mambranes. We all have lots of bacteria on our skin, and carrying MRSA does not mean someone is more likely to get an infection, it just means…
Multiple Infections – Should I Remove the Expander or Continue w/ LD Flap Surgery?
Infection, Radiation and Breast Reconstruction
Mar 1, 2011
When radiation is used in the treatment of breast cancer, non-cancerous tissues in the path of the radiation are also affected. Radiation therapy can mean a significant loss of skin elasticity, which can profoundly affect the aesthetic results of breast reconstruction. And because the body’s wound-healing mechanisms are altered by exposure to radiation, complications from all types of reconstructive breast surgery occur at a higher rate.
Radiation is especially problematic for…
Over the Muscle Implant Placement After Radiation Therapy?
Implants After Radiation…
Mar 1, 2011
When radiation is used in the treatment of breast cancer, non-cancerous tissues in the path of the radiation are also affected. Radiation therapy can mean a significant loss of skin elasticity, which can profoundly affect the aesthetic results of breast reconstruction. And because the body’s wound-healing mechanisms are altered by exposure to radiation, complications from all types of reconstructive breast surgery occur at a higher rate.
Radiation is especially problematic for…
Do Breast Reconstruction Tissue Expanders Cause Pain As They Expand?
Tissue Expanders for Breast Reconstruction Typically Cause Pain as They are Expanded
Mar 1, 2011
Breast implants used in reconstruction cannot generally be placed directly in the space created by the removal of breast tissue. This is because an implant placed directly below the skin will generally not produce cosmetically desirable results and will be at high risk for eroding through the surgical incision, or through the skin itself.
In order to create space and prepare the chest for reconstruction using a breast implant, a tissue expander can be used to progressively stretch…
I Have Had Reconstruction Using Implant and Fat, why is it now rock hard?
Hard Tissue after Implant Reconstruction
Mar 1, 2011
Unfortunately, there is a very high incidense of capsular contracture (in your case, it sounds like recurrent capsular contracture) when breast implants are used for breast reconstruction after radiation. Of course without knowing more about the details of your surgery and examing you, it would be difficult to say for certain, but it sounds like a recurrent capsule and scar tissue are making your reconstructed breast feel "hard".
When a woman has had radiation, many plastic…
Breasts Implants Cancer: Risk of Lymphoma
ALCL and Breast Implants-What is the Risk of Lymphoma?
Feb 15, 2011
The FDA has identified a possible association between breast implants and the development of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. While the FDA continues to allow the sale and use of approved breast implants, the FDA has stated, “additional data is needed to fully understand the possible relationship between ALCL and breast implants.” The FDA has stated, “women with implants may have a very small, but increased risk of…
FDA Says Possible Link Between Implants and ALCL Cancer – What’s Your View?
ALCL and Breast Implant Safety – We Still Have a Lot to Learn
Feb 13, 2011
The FDA has identified a possible association between breast implants and the development of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. While ALCL is not breast cancer, it is a malignancy. Furthermore, although a conclusive causal relationship has not yet been established, it is presently thought that breast implants can play a role in the development of ALCL; the number of identified cases far exceeds the number of expected cases (3 cases of…
Does a Reconstructed Breast Feel Different?
Sensation in Your Breasts after Mastectomy
Feb 11, 2011
Unfortunately, during a mastectomy, the nerves to your breast skin, and if a nipple-sparing mastectomy is done, to your nipple, are necessarily divided. As a result, sensation in the skin of your breast that remains after surgery (and nipple, if it is preserved) is significantly reduced and can even be completely lost. If a woman undergoes reconstruction with her own tissue (autologous reconstruction), some of the nerve endings that were cut during the mastectomy my grow back into the…
Angiogram Before Breast Reconstruction Surgery
Blood Vessel Mapping before Breast Reconstruction Surgery
Feb 11, 2011
Depending on what kind of breast reconstruction you are planning to have, an angiogram may be an excellent planning tool. Preoperative blood vessel mapping ahead of perforator flap microsurgical breast reconstruction helps to assure that your surgeon will select the very best available blood vessels for you surgery.
Some surgeons use CT angiography (CTA) while others use MR angiography (MRA). I prefer to use MRA (only when a woman has a contraindication to MRA do I use CTA in my…
What Are the Benefits of Reconstruction for Tuberous Breasts?
Surgery to Correct Tuberous Breast Deformity
Feb 11, 2011
Surgery to correct tuberous breasts can provide significant cosmetic benefit, however, any such surgery will nat produce any functional improvement in your ability to breast feed. That said women who undergo correction of tuberous breasts are generally very happy with the results that such surgery can produce and report high degrees of satisfaction. Interestingly, in severe cases of tuberous breast deformity, we have found that some patient's insurance plans will cover the expense of…
GAP Flap Breast Reconstruction – Does It Also Give You a Butt Lift?
Buttock Lift with Breast Reconstruction- it is possible
Feb 11, 2011
The SGAP flap utilizes tissue from the upper buttock and tends to make the upper buttock more concave than before surgery. The IGAP flap takes tissue from the lower buttock and tends to flatten the buttock.
If you are interested in a technique of natural-tissue breast reconstruction that will raise and lift the buttock, a Lumbar Artery Perforator flap (LAP flap) may be of interest to you. This flap uses tissue from the love-handle area for breast reconstruction; this is some…
Is It Possible to Do a Diep Flap After a Mini Tummy Tuck?
DIEP after Tummy Tuck- Sometimes Possible
Feb 11, 2011
Although previous tummy tuck or mini-tummy tuck surgery was previously considered a contraindication to DIEP flap surgery, it is no longer always the case. Tummy tuck surgery will disrupts some, but not necessarily all of the blood vessels which can be used for a DIEP flap. With preoperative blood vessel imaging, for example with an MRI, it is possible to figure out precisely whether or not a DIEP flap is possible. I have done DIEP flaps in patient who have previously had mini-abdominoplasty…