Breast Cancer Awareness Month Features Webcast of Breast Reconstruction Surgery
Women who have been diagnosed with Breast Cancer usually go under the knife for a surgical procedure known as mastectomy. The procedure is generally recommended by doctors so as to prevent or limit the spread of malignant cells. Because of this, a lot of women seek breast reconstruction as soon as possible. The cosmetic surgery procedure helps breast cancer patients reclaim a semblance of their body and, at the same time, acquire the much-desired peace of mind.
The Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is putting the breast reconstruction surgery webcast back on air. The featured webcast is part of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month held every October. The chosen webcast is one of the most frequently performed types of breast reconstruction surgery, which involves the use of muscles taken from the patient’s backside.
The 1-hour long webcast will not only feature a pre-taped breast reconstruction surgery, but surgeons will also be readily available online to answer live queries from viewers. Anne Rosenberg, M.D., a respectable breast surgeon and a clinical professor of Surgery, and Steven Copit, a plastic reconstructive surgeon and clinical assistant professor of Surgery at the Jefferson Medical College, will be the featured doctors on the said event.
According to Dr. Rosenberg, the Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an appropriate time to arouse awareness about the best and most recent innovations in diagnosing and treating Breast Cancer. She further added that the webcast would evidently reveal what a patient can expect after getting a diagnosis of breast cancer. The particular breast reconstruction surgery that would be shown on the webcast is known as lastissimus dorsi flap surgery, which involves the use of underlying fat and muscle from the back in order to form a mound to recreate the breast.
As stated by Dr. Copit, this type of surgery is advantageous to the patient since it does not only offer aesthetic improvement, it also presents psychological and emotional benefits. It spares the patient from seeing herself without a breast. By the time she awakens from the effects of anesthesia, an improvised breast is already in place.
During the procedure, the plastic surgeon inserts a shell into the affected area. As soon as the shell positioned, the plastic surgeon makes use of an expander placed beneath the chest muscles. The expander, which is a balloon-like item, is filled with air to retain the shape of the improvised breast until an implant can be placed after three months. The choices of implants can either be silicone gel-filled or saline-filled. Typically, the patient is placed under general anesthesia for a period of four hours during the mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery.
After a period of three months following surgical placement of breast implants, the patient will again go under the knife for yet another procedure. According to Dr. Copit, the third surgery is performed to reconstruct the breast’s nipple and areola using the tissue from the new breast. Tattooing is done afterwards to finalize the reconstruction.
Despite of the apparent benefits of the surgical procedure, not all patients are considered to be good candidates for breast reconstruction surgery. Dr. Copit stated that the probability of performing the procedure on a certain patient would be determined by a number of factors. One of the usual decisive factors is the amount of tissue on hand to reconstruct the breast.
With regards to recuperation, the patient may be confined in the hospital for a period of three to six days following surgery. However, it usually takes three to four weeks for a patient to heal fully.
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