With 58,459 new cases per year (Public Health France), breast cancer is both the most frequent and the deadliest in women. When the doctor makes the delicate decision to remove a breast, it is obviously to increase the chances of recovery. A reconstruction is then proposed. It is also an option when breast-conserving surgery (or lumpectomy) has changed its shape, and the patient does not like the aesthetic result.
Want to feel desirable again, to erase what is reminiscent of cancer… The motivations for taking action are numerous. And when you decide to get started, three breast reconstruction options are possible.
Breast cancer: 3 options for reconstruction
- Prostheses + fat injections. “This hybrid technique is used in 70% of reconstructions in France” explains Dr. Alfred Fitoussi, surgeon specializing in breast surgery. If the prosthesis is used alone (filled with silicone gel or saline), then it will be placed behind the pectoral muscle. This operation is done under general anesthesia.
- The flap technique. “It uses the patient’s own tissues (from the back, or the stomach, for example).” The surgeon introduces the flap through the armpit and slides it under the skin of the thorax to reconstruct the breast. “”Much heavier, it requires 3 to 5 hours of operation. It represents 8 to 10% of reconstructions.”
- Lipomodeling or lipofilling. This technique makes it possible to reconstruct a breast, or to reshape its volume, by injecting the patient with her own fat, taken from the hips, stomach, buttocks or thighs. “These injections – under general anesthesia – make it possible to reform a breast in a very natural way, without leaving scars. The disadvantage is that it requires patience. Count from 2 to 4 injections, at 4 months of interval every time. All in all, it takes a good year.”
Whichever method is chosen, it will be necessary, after having restored the breast volume, to reconstruct the areola and the nipple. Some tattoo artists are specialized, doing stunningly realistic work.
Source : Dr. Alfred Fitoussi, surgeon specializing in breast surgery – oncology, at the Saint-Jean-de-Dieu clinic in Paris.
