How Is Nipple Reconstruction Done?
Nipple reconstruction is offered as part of the breast reconstruction process, unless of course the patient has undergone anipple-sparing mastectomy. Reconstructing the nipple and areola helps make the reconstruction appear more "natural" and usually also hides some of the scarring.There are several ways to reconstruct a nipple. Some techniques rearrange the tissue that is part of the reconstructed breast (a bit like "origami"). "Nipple-sharing" can also be preformed which uses part of the patient's opposite nipple if it is large enough.The areola can be created either through tattooing or grafting skin from the groin area...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - October 10, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: areola reconstruction bow-tie nipple reconstruction nipple reconstruction video nipple-sharing tattooing Source Type: blogs
How Is Nipple Reconstruction Done?
Nipple reconstruction is offered as part of the breast reconstruction process, unless of course the patient has undergone a nipple-sparing mastectomy. Reconstructing the nipple and areola helps make the reconstruction appear more "natural" and usually also hides some of the scarring.
There are several ways to reconstruct a nipple. Some techniques rearrange the tissue that is part of the reconstructed breast (a bit like "origami"). "Nipple-sharing" can also be preformed which uses part of the patient's opposite nipple if it is large enough.
The areola can be created either through tattooing or grafting skin from the groin...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - October 10, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: bow-tie nipple-sharing tattooing nipple reconstruction video areola reconstruction Source Type: blogs
Are you a BRCA Patient Interested in Prophylactic Mastectomy & DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction?
Angelina Jolie's decision to have prophylactic mastectomies and immediate breast reconstruction earlier this year has prompted women across the country to look into their hereditary breast cancer risk.We're kicking off Breast Cancer Awareness month on Wednesday, October 2nd with a live tweet event about this very topic.One of our BRCA+ patients has kindly agreed for our staff to tweet during her surgery - bilateral prophylactic mastectomies andimmediate DIEP flap breast reconstruction.Please join us live in the OR to learn more about these procedures!You can learn more about the Live Tweet Event here.Dr C*****Dr C is ...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - September 27, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: BRCA chrysopoulo DIEP flap immediate breast reconstruction live tweet event prma plastic surgery prophylactic mastectomy Source Type: blogs
Are you a BRCA Patient Interested in Prophylactic Mastectomy & DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction?
Angelina Jolie's decision to have prophylactic mastectomies and immediate breast reconstruction earlier this year has prompted women across the country to look into their hereditary breast cancer risk. < br / > < br / > We're kicking off Breast Cancer Awareness month on Wednesday, October 2nd with a live tweet event about this very topic. < br / > < br / > One of our BRCA+ patients has kindly agreed for our staff to tweet during her surgery - bilateral prophylactic mastectomies and < a href="http://prma-enhance.com/breast-reconstruction/diep-flap" target="_blank" > immediate DIEP flap breast reconstruction < /a > . < br / ...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - September 27, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: BRCA chrysopoulo DIEP flap immediate breast reconstruction live tweet event prma plastic surgery prophylactic mastectomy Source Type: blogs
Are you a BRCA Patient Interested in Prophylactic Mastectomy & DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction?
Angelina Jolie's decision to have prophylactic mastectomies and immediate breast reconstruction earlier this year has prompted women across the country to look into their hereditary breast cancer risk.
We're kicking off Breast Cancer Awareness month on Wednesday, October 2nd with a live tweet event about this very topic.
One of our BRCA+ patients has kindly agreed for our staff to tweet during her surgery - bilateral prophylactic mastectomies and immediate DIEP flap breast reconstruction.
Please join us live in the OR to learn more about these procedures!
You can learn more about the Live Tweet Event here.
Dr C
...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - September 27, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: live tweet event immediate breast reconstruction prophylactic mastectomy DIEP flap BRCA chrysopoulo prma plastic surgery Source Type: blogs
Vascularized Lymph Node Transfer for Lymphedema
Vascularized lymph node transfer is the latest surgical option for the treatment of lymphedema. The procedure was first described several years ago and has continued to evolve since then. It is now gaining popularity for the treatment of arm lymphedema in breast cancer survivors that do not respond to conservative (non-surgical) therapy. The results have been quite exciting.
In the case of arm lymphedema caused by breast cancer surgery or radiation, avascularized lymph node transfer moves healthy lymph nodes, usually from the upper-outer groin, to the underarm area (axilla). These healthy nodes compensate for the lymph n...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - August 30, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: arm lymphedema breast cancer breast cancer surgery breast reconstruction DIEP flap groin lymph nodes radiation vascularized lymph node transfer Source Type: blogs
Vascularized Lymph Node Transfer for Lymphedema
Vascularized lymph node transfer is the latest surgical option for the treatment of lymphedema. The procedure was first described several years ago and has continued to evolve since then. It is now gaining popularity for the treatment of arm lymphedema in breast cancer survivors that do not respond to conservative (non-surgical) therapy. The results have been quite exciting.
In the case of arm lymphedema caused by breast cancer surgery or radiation, a vascularized lymph node transfer moves healthy lymph nodes, usually from the upper-outer groin, to the underarm area (axilla). These healthy nodes compensate for the lymp...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - August 30, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: vascularized lymph node transfer breast reconstruction breast cancer arm lymphedema DIEP flap breast cancer surgery groin lymph nodes radiation Source Type: blogs
Prophylactic Mastectomy - is it right for you?
Having prophylactic mastectomy is a very personal choice. There is no "right answer", only what you consider is best for you.Women who are at high risk of developing breast cancer have the option of prophylactic (preventive) mastectomy as a way of decreasing their risk. Factors that increase a woman ’s chance of developing breast cancer include:a genetic predisposition to breast cancer e.g. BRCA+, Cowden's Syndrome, Li-Fraumeni Syndromea strong family history of breast cancera breast cancer diagnosis at a young ageabnormal breast cells on biopsy that increase the risk of breast cancer, e.g. LCISa history of previous ches...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - July 11, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: BRCA breast reconstruction chemoprophylaxis cowden's syndrome li-fraumeni syndrome nipple-sparing mastectomy preventive mastectomy prophylactic mastectomy tamoxifen Source Type: blogs
Prophylactic Mastectomy - is it right for you?
Having prophylactic mastectomy is a very personal choice. There is no "right answer", only what you consider is best for you.
Women who are at high risk of developing breast cancer have the option of prophylactic (preventive) mastectomy as a way of decreasing their risk.
Factors that increase a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer include:
a genetic predisposition to breast cancer e.g. BRCA+, Cowden's Syndrome, Li-Fraumeni Syndrome
a strong family history of breast cancer
a breast cancer diagnosis at a young age
abnormal breast cells on biopsy that increase the risk of breast cancer, e.g. LCIS
a history of previo...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - July 11, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: chemoprophylaxis preventive mastectomy tamoxifen breast reconstruction cowden's syndrome li-fraumeni syndrome nipple-sparing mastectomy prophylactic mastectomy BRCA Source Type: blogs
Finding the Best DIEP Flap Surgeon for You
If you are considering DIEP flap breast reconstruction, finding the right surgical team is key. Before deciding which surgeon is the best DIEP flap surgeon for you, consider asking the following questions:
Are you certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery? Your surgeon should be a board certified plastic surgeon with extensive training and experience in microsurgery.
How much experience do you have with this type of surgery - How many have you performed? It is preferable that your surgeon has successfully performed over 100 DIEP flap reconstructions.
What's your success rate? Top specialist centers boast a succes...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - May 28, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: tug flap breast reconstruction diep flap surgeon gap flap insurance best diep flap surgeon TRAM flap siea flap Source Type: blogs
Nipple Delay Surgery
Angelina Jolie recently shared her BRCA+ diagnosis and brave decision to undergo prophylactic nipple-sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction. As part of her surgery, she underwent a nipple delay procedure.So what is a "nipple delay"?Most patients do not need a delay procedure. It's actually performed quite rarely. It can however be a good option for patients who want nipple-sparing mastectomy but are at high risk for nipple necrosis. High risk patients include smokers, patients with moderate to significant breast ptosis (sagging), and patients with a history of previous breast surgery (eg breast reducti...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - May 15, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Angelina Jolie BRCA breast cancer breast reconstruction nipple delay nipple necrosis nipple sparing mastectomy nipple-areolar complex nipple-sparing mastectomy prophylactic mastectomy Source Type: blogs
Nipple Delay Surgery
Angelina Jolie recently shared her BRCA+ diagnosis and brave decision to undergo prophylactic nipple-sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction. As part of her surgery, she underwent a nipple delay procedure.
So what is a "nipple delay"?
Most patients do not need a delay procedure. It's actually performed quite rarely. It can however be a good option for patients who want nipple-sparing mastectomy but are at high risk for nipple necrosis. High risk patients include smokers, patients with moderate to significant breast ptosis (sagging), and patients with a history of previous breast surgery (eg breast red...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - May 15, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: nipple sparing mastectomy nipple necrosis breast reconstruction breast cancer nipple delay Angelina Jolie nipple-sparing mastectomy prophylactic mastectomy BRCA nipple-areolar complex Source Type: blogs
Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy
Nipple-sparing mastectomy in conjunction with immediate breast reconstruction is becoming more and more popular so I thought a blog post about it was in order...What is a nipple-sparing mastectomy?A nipple-sparing mastectomy preserves the nipple, areola and all the surrounding breast skin which is then used for the breast reconstruction. Unlike the traditional "modified radical mastectomy", nipple-sparing mastectomy only removes the breast tissue ("parenchyma") under the skin.What are the benefits?Studies show that nipple-sparing mastectomy provides the same level of surgical treatment as a modified radical mastectom...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - April 24, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: BRCA breast reconstruction cowden's syndrome mastectomy modified radical mastectomy nipple areola nipple sparing mastectomy nipple-sparing prophylactic mastectomy strong family history Source Type: blogs
Can Breast Cancer return in a Reconstructed Breast?
Some women are scared to consider breast reconstruction after a mastectomy because they think it will increase the risk of the breast cancer coming back. This is a common misconception. Thankfully, it's not the case.
Breast cancer can come back even after a mastectomy. However, the risk of recurrence after a mastectomy is very low and is the same whether you have breast reconstruction or not.
When the patient's own tissue is used for the reconstruction (as in a "flap" procedure), only skin, fat, and/or muscle are used. This tissue is used to replace breast tissue and feels like a breast, but it never turns into rea...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - April 24, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: breast reconstruction breast cancer reconstructed breast breast cancer recurrence Source Type: blogs
One-Step Breast Reconstruction with Implants and Alloderm
Implant breast reconstruction is the most common method of breast reconstruction currently performed in the US. There are two main approaches: the "Alloderm one-step" (also referred to as "single stage" or "direct to implant" reconstruction), and the two-stage reconstruction with tissue expanders. To easier explain the ins-and-outs of the one-step procedure, I first need to summarize the more traditional two-stage approach...Tissue expanders essentially act as "spacers". They can either be placed at the same time as the mastectomy or some time later. They are inflated with saline injections to recreate the desired breast s...
Source: Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog - April 24, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: alloderm alloderm one-step BRCA breast implants breast reconstruction direct to implant implant reconstruction one step single stage tissue expanders Source Type: blogs
