Breast reconstruction after a mastectomy is very important to retore a woman's self-image afterward. It helps to retore confidence and it provides a better outlook on life. As far as the different ways to reconstruct a breast, you can use your own tissue or a breast implant. Please see my previous article on breast reconstruction for information on using your own tissue.
As far as using a breast implant, this is the easiest recovery. After the mastectomy is done, a tissue expander is placed underneath the muscle in the chest. This will then be slowly filled weekly with sterile saline injected into the expander via a port buried in the expander. The expander will the stretch the muscle and skin to make room for a breast implant depending on how large you want your new breast to be. Then, a new nipple is created by folding the breast skin on itself. Finally, a new areola is tattooed on the reconstructed breast.
It takes about a year to fully recreate a new breast, but the results are worth it. Please see my website, www.DrSchreiberPlasticSurgery.com for some before and after photos and for more detailed information.
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