Breast Reconstruction Surgery

Breast reconstruction surgery helps women's breasts become fuller and reshapes their breasts to a natural look. Breast reconstruction surgery can help you gain your confidence and self-esteem back after the loss of a breast or other circumstances.

Many women who have had a mastectomy want to have breast reconstruction surgery to give an even look to their chest. Many women who have had children want their breasts to look like they did before the breast feeding and pregnancy. Another reason women get the breast reconstruction surgery is for women who have uneven sized breasts, this way they can make the breasts the same size and look natural.

Is Breast Reconstruction Surgery Right For Me?

Breast reconstruction surgery is not right for everyone, but it is right for those that want a change or would like to make their breasts symmetrical.

When the lost of a breast or the unevenness of breasts starts to affect your everyday life it might be time to schedule a consultation with a breast reconstruction specialist. If you feel that you have low self confidence because of your breasts or the loss of a breast to mastectomy, then breast reconstruction surgery is the medical procedure that will allow you to get your body back and enjoy a happier and fuller life.

Breast reconstruction surgery is a safe procedure that can help many different women.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: Searching For A Breast Reconstruction

When looking for a breast reconstruction surgeon it is best to find someone you'll feel most comfortable with. By using our surgeon locator you can find the nearest breast reconstruction surgeon to you!

When you do find the breast reconstruction surgeon for you, it is important to ask them some basic questions just to get to know who they are. Some questions you may want to ask is, about their credentials, how many times they have performed the breast reconstruction surgery, and if you can see before and after pictures. This will just give you a little knowledge about your surgeon and better understanding about breast reconstruction surgery, what to expect from it and what concerns you should have.

After finding the right breast reconstruction surgeon for you, make a consultation to know if you are a good candidate for breast reconstruction.

In some cases doctors have computer programs that can simulate the results that can be obtain with surgery.

Breast Reconstruction: Always Remember

Every person is different, and each breast reconstruction surgery will be different for other women. The results that you will obtain from breast reconstruction can vary drastically from patient to patient and depend on many factors. Some of these factors are the your individual case and medical condition, the breast reconstruction technique used, your surgeon's experience and ability among others.

We invite you to browse through other sections of Breast Reconstruction Guide to learn more about breast reconstruction surgery.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: The Consultation

When going to the breast reconstruction consultation it is important to have an idea in your mind what you would like your breasts to look like, so you and the doctor can achieve your ultimate goal.

An important tip: most breast reconstruction consultations are free, however some may not be. But, if you are getting the breast reconstruction surgery for health reasons, many insurance companies will cover the consultation fee, and majority of the breast reconstruction surgery.

During the breast reconstruction consultation the surgeon will examine your breasts, and then the doctor will go into detail about the different kind of techniques that he or she will use during the breast reconstruction surgery. The surgeon will go over which breast reconstruction technique will work and look best for the patient.

Also, the breast reconstruction doctor will talk about what kind of anesthesia they use for the breast reconstruction surgery. It will either be general or local with sedation; this depends on the techniques and the patient.

During the consultation the patient will want to ask the breast reconstruction surgeon more questions about his or her credentials, and learn more about how he or she performs the breast reconstruction surgery and ask to speak with the doctor's previous patients.

Before setting up the breast reconstruction surgery appointment make sure the surgeon is right for you!

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: The Cost

Many women get the breast reconstruction surgery after having a mastectomy. Because the mastectomy is part of a treatment women get from the breast cancer disease many insurance companies will help pay for most of the breast reconstruction surgery.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: The Different Surgeries

Immediate breast reconstruction: This is when the breast reconstruction surgery is done immediately after the mastectomy. An advantage to this is that the chest tissues are not damaged from radiation. The breasts look more natural after this process.

One negative aspect of the immediate breast reconstruction surgery is that you will need to come back after the first procedure, so the doctors can work on the nipples and areolas. But, some breast reconstruction surgeons can do this part right away. It is important to ask your breast reconstruction surgeon how much more will need to be done after the first procedure.

Delay breast reconstruction: Is another breast reconstruction surgery doctors can do. This procedure rebuilds breast or breasts a few weeks to months after the mastectomy. Some patients may have to choose this surgery option because they may have too much radiation in the chest.

If the patient is getting the breast reconstruction surgery for different reasons than a mastectomy, the patients will only need to go for one procedure and the doctors will most likely use implants or flap tissue.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: How Long Does The Surgery Last?

There are several techniques that doctors use to perform the breast reconstruction surgery. Depending upon the technique used depends upon how long the procedure is.

For women that are seeking the breast reconstruction surgery because they are getting a mastectomy and opt for the immediate breast reconstruction their breast reconstruction surgery will be the longest. The breast cancer treatment gets done first, after the treatment is finished, the plastic surgeons come in and finishes the reconstruction procedure. This usually takes up to 10 hours.

If you are using the flap technique this surgery can last up to 6 hours long.

If the patient is getting implants for the breast reconstruction surgery their procedure can take up to 4 hours.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: Timeline Before The Procedure

Two weeks before the breast reconstruction surgery the patients will be told to quit smoking, hopefully the patient quit smoking before the two week mark, but if they haven't the patient absolutely has to stop at this mark.

One week before the breast reconstruction surgery the patient cannot have anymore alcohol.

The night before the breast reconstruction surgery the patient will not be allowed to eat past 10 pm that evening.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: Right Before Surgery

The patient will get to the hospital where the breast reconstruction surgery will be. When the patient walks in they will put on a hospital gown and will be waiting in a room before the surgery.

The patient will then go into the operating room; there the anesthesiologist will give the patient the anesthesia that the breast reconstruction surgeon talked about during the consultation.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: The Procedure

Depending on what technique the doctor and the patient talked about during the consultation will depend on which breast reconstruction surgery technique the doctor will use.

The patients that had to get the mastectomy can either choose to do the immediate breast reconstruction surgery. This means that the surgeon that is doing the mastectomy will go in and remove the breast so that they can remove all the cancer out of the breast. Then the breast reconstruction surgeon will come in and either put the implant in where the breast was, or will use the breast reconstruction surgery flap techniques to fill in where the breast was. This means the doctor will either use tissue from the stomach, upper back or buttocks.

Or the patients who are getting a mastectomy can have the breast reconstruction surgery technique called the delay reconstruction surgery. Which means the surgeon will just remove the breast or breasts at this point. And then in a few months the patient will be back to put the implant or tissue in place.

For those that are getting the breast reconstruction surgery for other reasons such as: their breasts are two different cups, or because they had children and want to reshape their breast.

At this point the breast reconstruction surgeon will either put in the implant to give the breast a fuller and rounder look. Or the doctor will use the breast reconstruction surgery tissue flap technique just to add a little more to the breasts that are already there and help reshape the breast or breasts better.

To learn more about the different techniques please go to our breast reconstruction technique page.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: Immediately after Surgery

After the patient gets done with breast reconstruction surgery she will get moved to a recovery room. The patient will be in the recovery room for 2 to 3 hours. Then the patient will be transferred into a hospital room.

After having the breast reconstruction surgery, the patients will have bandages over their breast or breasts. If the doctor did the breast reconstruction surgery flap technique the patient will have bandages over the area they got the tissue from such as the stomach, upper back or buttocks. The patients will have stitches in, and the patients will have draining tubes at the incisions sites to help drain extra fluid from the breast reconstruction surgery.

While the patients stay at the hospital they may feel slight discomfort and mild pain. The doctor will prescribe pain medication as needed.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: The length of the Hospital Stay

Depending on what kind of breast reconstruction surgery the patient had done will depend on the amount of time they will stay in the hospital.

For those that got implants for their breast reconstruction surgery will remain in the hospital for 1 to 2 days.

If the patient has the breast reconstruction surgery tissue flap technique they will stay in the hospital up to 6 days.

Breast Reconstruction: The Final Results

After the patients get out of the hospital they will need someone to bring them home, and help the patient for the first 24 hours.

After having the breast reconstruction surgery the patients will not be able to do any lifting, no strenuous exercise and no sexual intercourse for 4 to 6 weeks.

Around 6 to 8 weeks after the breast reconstruction surgery the patient will be back to normal and doing their everyday activities.

If the patient just got implants their recovery time will be cut in half.

It may take up to 10 weeks for the swelling and bruising to go down on the breasts, but at this point the patient will be living normal life.

Important Tip For The Breast Reconstruction Surgery

Patients will have to ask their breast reconstruction surgeon when they can wear underwire bras again.

It is important to remember that there will be scars after having the breast reconstruction surgery. Although they may never go away, the color will fade away and look hardly noticeable.

If you had the breast reconstruction surgery because of a mastectomy it is important to check with your doctor to make sure all the cancer is out, and to keep going regularly to make sure the cancer doesn't come back.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: In The End

Although, the recovery process of the breast reconstruction surgery is long, it is very rewarding process as well. As a woman and a patient you will feel as if your breasts are fuller and rounder.