14
Dec
Advances in breast reconstruction create more natural feeling breasts
Except for skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, who carry a 12 percent chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some point in their life.
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in 2010. Approximately 54,010 cases of non-invasive breast cancer will also be diagnosed.
A mastectomy, which is the surgical removal of one or both of the breasts, is often utilized to fight breast cancer. After the breast is removed, doctors can perform breast reconstruction.
"Breast reconstruction is generally for people with breast cancer or with a genetic predisposition to breast cancer," Dr. Loren Schecter, MD, selected as a Chicago Top Doctor by TopTierMD as a top rated plastic surgeon in Chicago, said. "When the breast is removed, plastic surgeons can offer different options for reconstruction.
"There are a variety of different options. My area of expertise is in microsurgery, which involves attaching very tiny blood vessels and, typically moving tissue from the tummy and reattaching that to blood vessels by the breast."
That procedure, called a flap procedure, typically takes longer than using an implant, Dr. Schecter said, because it requires a delicate dissection and removal of blood vessels from the abdomen.
"The blood vessels are then attached with very fine sutures through the use of a microscope because the blood vessels are so small," Dr. Schecter said. "The blood vessels are the same thickness, if not thinner, than a human hair. Doctors need additional training to do this procedure."
The result, Dr. Schecter said, is a more natural feeling breast that uses the body's own tissue. Additionally, patients will only spend about four days in the hospital before going home.
"After a couple of weeks, the patient can go back to their usual way of life," Dr. Schecter said. "Traditionally, with lesser advanced techniques, people have the risk of something like a hernia, which we, by utilizing these advanced techniques, have very much minimized if not eliminated. It is, however, a very technically demanding procedure, so there will be a limited number of people who can do it. I have 10 years of experience and a high level of knowledge of the procedure."
Many women are candidates for the procedure, Dr. Schecter said. Previous abdominal surgery, however, may keep women from this procedure, though not C-section surgery.
Dr. Loren Schecter, MD, was selected by TopTierMD as a Chicago Top Doctor and is considered Best in Plastic Surgery in Chicago. He specializes in breast reconstruction, abdominoplasty and liposuction.
